Cumulonimbus
by Rikkamaru
Summary: Skull meets Tsuna earlier than anyone could have anticipated. And it changes everything. Gen, Skull-centric and Tsuna-centric. BAMF!Skull, No Pairings.
1. A Wayward Cloud in an Endless Sky

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

A Wayward Cloud in an Endless Sky

* * *

Skull was getting so tired of his clients not reading his fucking contract.

What part of "I won't do hits on kids" was so difficult to understand? Sure he was a hitman now, but he was a stuntman before that and he has _standards_, damn it. And the primary two were "I won't be paid off" and "_I don't_ _kill kids_".

But Skull didn't show any of his frustration, blinking guilelessly up at the seven year old in front of him. "Thank you for telling me, Tsuna-nii," he said innocently. "I'll go tell my friends that you don't want to play the assassin game."

Sawada Tsunayoshi – and god, it was surreal to realize that the Young Lion of the Vongola had actually reproduced, and that he looked _so_ much like Giotto – looked a mixture of relieved and concerned. "W-what's going on, Skull-kun?" he asked, and was that a flicker of orange in his eyes?

The former stuntman felt a touch of pity for the boy. It was clear that he wasn't aware of the potential danger he was in day by day, and Skull hadn't seen hide nor hair of anyone that could be consider guards or protection detail. So Skull made a decision and beamed up at the boy. "I'll tell you soon, Tsuna-nii! And the amazing Skull-sama never breaks a promise!" Except when it involved killing kids, he added mentally as the boy relaxed a little. Then he wouldn't hesitate to break that promise.

Skull watched as Tsuna walked back into his house – and wow, this kid may be a little paranoid but he definitely didn't know that assassins may be visiting his hometown at some point or another – before he took out his "mafia phone" and sent out a text.

**Reborn-senpai, are you still working for the Vongola?**

He received a response about a minute later.

_**Why do you want to know, stupid Lackey?**_

Skull scowled at the text in peeved silence before answering.

**I want to know 'cause they appear to have a rat rather high up in the food chain.**

Ten seconds after he sent that text, the stuntman wasn't too surprised when his phone burst into a cacophony of rings. Nonetheless, he accepted the incoming call. "Yo."

"_You better have proof for saying something like that, Lackey."_ Reborn sounded rather annoyed, but he always sounded like that around Skull so the purple-haired baby ignored it.

"How high up do they have to be to know that the Young Lion has a son, and that the family lives in Namimori?" Was all he said in return, and the silence that followed the question was telling.

"…_I'll look into it,"_ the darkness in Reborn's voice caused Skull to shudder a little and made him grateful that he wasn't the reason behind the Greatest Hitman in the World's anger. _"So they hired you to take the boy out?"_

"Yeah," Skull confirmed, leaning against the brick wall behind him. "I'm planning to drop the hit though. I won't kill kids."

"_You're still too soft,"_ Reborn scoffed, but Skull was used to the sound and so caught the hint of relief in his voice that Skull still had standards and loyalty to the other Arcobaleno, despite their abuse. _"Lay low,"_ the sun user ordered. _"Anyone wanting to see the youngest Sawada dead won't appreciate you reneging on your end of the deal."_

Before Skull could say anything else, Reborn hung up, leaving the weakest Arcobaleno to glower moodily at his phone. "Bastard," he muttered sulkily, before he focused again and looked for the number of the Family that had contracted him for the hit. A dark grin crossed his face and he cheerfully texted a, **Fuck you guys. The deal's off.**,before he smashed it into the wall behind him, cutting him off from his fellow Arcobaleno but also removing any traces leading to him in Japan.

"Senpai is going to be so mad," he mumbled to himself, but didn't feel any regret. Reborn would likely tell the others if he felt it necessary, and no one really called him, so he should be alright. The false child then took a fortifying breath, and went to the Sawada household.

After all, he did promise.

* * *

Tsuna eyed the little purple-haired boy that was sitting across from him in a chair, sipping juice and thanking his mother who beamed back before joining Tsuna on the couch. "So what was the important thing you wanted to tell us, Skull-chan?" Nana asked, and the boy put down his juice to fiddle with his helmet.

(Tsuna had seen the motorcycle that the child had parked in the garage, but didn't know what to think of it and its pierced rider just yet. The kid looked _five_, but the way he acted and looked at Tsuna was far older than that.)

"It…it's kind of hard to explain, Nana-san," the boy started. ("You can call me Mama, Skull-chan!" A bitter smile. "Maybe later, Nana-san. And it would be a disservice to you for me to put similarities between you and my birth mother.") "Well, to put it simply, I recently had some really mean friends who were way older than me, and they wanted to hurt you and Tsuna-nii because they don't like your husband." The boy, Skull, ducked his head as Nana gasped in shock and Tsuna felt a flash of surprise and resentment go through.

His father wasn't even here and he was hurting Tsuna and his mom. Tsuna definitely believed the boy; something told him that the child was telling them the truth, if a highly edited version of it. He certainly believed him more than his father who kept talking about being a construction worker and making the little voice in Tsuna's head call him a liar over and over again.

"I'm sorry Nana-san," Skull sounded sincerely regretful as he shifted nervously in the chair he'd claimed, pierced face set in a sad grimace that didn't look at odd as it might have on any other five year old. "I told them that I wouldn't be friends with them anymore and then I let another friend of mine that knows your husband know what was going on around here, but I just wanted to make sure you knew."

Tsuna watched as his mother rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking up with a wobbly smile. "Don't apologize, Skull-chan. It certainly isn't your fault! And I really do appreciate you warning us; we'll be a little more careful about where we go and who's around." The smile was then replaced by a concerned look as she observed the child, Tsuna instinctively doing the same at his mother's expression.

Skull looked tired, and aged, as if he was decades older than what his body portrayed, fatigue seeping into his tiny frame now that the talk was over. Nana spoke up for the both of them. "Are you alright, Skull-chan? Do you need to go lay down?"

Skull grinned, and while it still didn't look completely natural it was much more so than the one he'd given Tsuna earlier that day. "Arigato, Nana-san! I would really appreciate it!" He said with false cheer, honestly happy but faking his level of enthusiasm. "Since I stopped being friends with those bad people, I don't really have a place to sleep."

Nana gasped, jumping to her feet. "Poor thing! What about your family?"

Skull actually flinched at that before trying to cover it up, and while he may have fooled Nana, Tsuna flinched like that whenever kids talked about his bullies near him and something in him bristled in protective anger at the sight. "My family isn't…isn't nice, Nana-san," the child told her awkwardly, fidgeting in his chair once again. "And…they kind of threw me out of the house a few months ago."

"How horrible!" His mother gasped again, looking angered that someone could do that to such a sweet if odd child. Tsuna agreed, but also felt a sense of relief from the admission. He felt like Skull was lying about _when_ they threw him out, but the kid was just unusually happy that he wouldn't have to go home to his own personal bullies ever again. His mother spoke up again. "Well then, you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you like, Skull-chan. You can stay with Tsu-kun." Tsuna nodded in agreement when Skull looked at him, and felt a little taller, a little less Dame, when he saw the pure gratitude on the boy's face.

"A-arigato gozaimasu, Nana-san – I mean, kaa-san! And Tsuna-nii! Skull-sama promises to pay you back however he can!" Nana and Tsuna gave a bright smile back, Tsuna's shier but no less genuine, and the older boy stood to show Skull the room they would be sharing. While they were going up the stairs Tsuna tripped, and closed his eyes in preparation for the pain of collision. When nothing happened Tsuna opened one eye carefully, and then the other and shot a look behind himself.

Skull had stopped him from tripping, one hand gripping tightly to the back of Tsuna's pants, the arm suspiciously muscled compared to the rest of the child's body. Seeing that Tsuna was paying attention again, the purple-haired boy tugged his body back upright and looked at him with worry. "Be careful, Tsuna-nii," he told him, and when Tsuna nodded, he let a broad (_fake_, Tsuna's mind hissed) grin cross his features. "The great Skull-sama won't always be here to help you!" He said cockily, but Tsuna just snorted at the proclamation, which earned a smaller, realer smile.

The two continued upstairs in companionable silence.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Tsuna jerked up with a stifled yelp and began frantically looking around. He thought he'd felt something…but no one else was in the room. Not even Skull was there, Tsuna realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach as he started trying to get out of the bed, falling out with a muffled thump that was thankfully too quiet to have awakened his mother.

Standing up shakily, the seven year old looked around, looking to see if Skull had just fallen off the bed himself or left the room entirely. As he looked around, Tsuna glanced at the window before freezing, caught off guard by the flash of purple light he saw and reluctantly mesmerized by it. The child scrambled over to the window, peeking through it onto the street below. A man was out there, shooting a gun that barely made a noise at a small form that jump and ducked around the bullets.

The small person was finally close enough to lunge at the man, and took him out with a solid kick to the temple, making Tsuna wince a little at how painful that must have been. The small person then looked up, the light bouncing off something he was wearing on his head and making Tsuna shut his eyes in response. When he opened them again, the two people were gone.

Tsuna stared at the street for a while before the sound of the door opening caused him to jump and swing around. Skull was there, and the two locked eyes for a moment before Tsuna blinked and frowned at the child. "What's going on, Skull-kun?" he asked for the second time that day, and strange feeling lingered in his mind, authoritative and waiting for the child's answer.

Skull seemed to sense that change in Tsuna, as the smile on his face faded away, and he eyed Tsuna thoughtfully for a few seconds, his eyes far older than anything Tsuna had seen before. The purple-haired child finally sighed, and lowered his head a little to the ground. It made the softer, realer side of Tsuna cringe to see that body language and to be the cause of it, but he pushed the thought away for the time being.

"You and your mother are in danger, Tsuna-nii," Skull told him honestly, hands clenching around the leather of his outfit. "Your father is in a group, and he's making enemies. So people are coming here, to hurt you and kaa-san in an attempt to hurt your father. I…" he hesitated for a moment but continued. "I was sent to hurt you, but I don't hurt kids so I told them I wouldn't. I'm sorry, that's probably why there're more people outside your house now –"

"No," Tsuna interrupted him, fire and blood roaring in his ears. What has his father gotten himself into? "Don't apologize for standing by your beliefs. You protected us so far, so there's nothing to apologize for. Thank you for telling me this." He stayed silent for a while, mulling over their options as Skull continued to stare at the floor. He smiled at the child and put his hand on the boy's head. "Tomorrow, we will tell my mother and Hibari-san what you have told me. For now, let's sleep."

With the last word the heat that had been cycling through his body abruptly left and he fell in the rush of exhaustion that followed, a surprised Skull catching him and leading him to bed.

* * *

And so my new KHR fic begins! This story was inspired by many people, but primarily cywscross and hiruma-musouka's conversation on tumblr about Skull and his potential.

I hope Tsuna was in character at the end. I don't really know how seven year olds act...

Please review.

Ja ne!


	2. Crowding Clouds

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Crowding Clouds

* * *

Every child in Namimori knew the Hibari family. Each parent made sure that their kid knew that the Hibari house was as safe a place to go to as the nearest police station if they were in trouble or scared, and every child was taught the Hibari emergency phone number alongside the typical 119. Over the years, they were slowly taught what constituted a Hibari-grade emergency, and were encouraged to not go to them otherwise. The only Hibari there at present time, Kyouya, also discouraged any notion of approaching as well.

Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on who you asked – having assassins after you and your family was considered a Hibari-grade emergency, and so Tsuna stood just outside the Hibari household nervously shuffling in place with Skull perched on his shoulder looking around curiously. "How old is this house?" The purple-haired child asked curiously, and Tsuna grasped at something to take his mind off what they were doing.

"I'm not sure, but it's been recorded as one of the first buildings built in Namimori, with the Hibari family being one of the town's founders," Tsuna told Skull, walking up to knock on the front door. "Since the Hibari are very traditional, they don't see the need to change the house, or at least that's what my mom told me." Before Tsuna could even lift his arm to knock the door opened, a scowling nine year old greeted him.

"Herbivore," Hibari Kyouya acknowledged, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Why are you here?"

The two children knew _of_ the other, but really only through word of mouth and their own sparse research. So Hibari likely knew that Tsuna was "Dame", as everyone else liked to call it, and Tsuna knew that Hibari had a short temper that exploded rather violently when it ran out. To prevent a rather painful reprimand from the older boy for wasting his time Tsuna quickly said, "Assassins are after my family," and was rewarded with Hibari's eyes widening for a moment before a horrifyingly eager look overtook his features.

"Enter," he commanded, turning on his heel and moving deeper into his house, Tsuna scrambling to keep up behind him. Skull was now silent on Tsuna's shoulder, and Tsuna glanced at him but the helmet he had put on was keeping his face hidden.

Which was probably for the best, as the confusion and horror that was present there would only terrify the poor brunet even more.

Because seriously, _what was Skull seeing_? Did the first generation up and decide to reincarnate and fix Vongola themselves, or did their descendants just choose the winning lottery numbers from the gene pool? Twice now he's found kids that could only be described as the second coming of their ancestors, and it was frankly scary. They looked _just_ like Giotto and Alaude; just less blonde.

Skull was broken out of his musings on how impolite it would be to ask them to dye their hair so he could see how much they resemble their ancestors by the Alaude-lookalike. "Why are assassins after your family, Herbivore?"

Skull felt Tsuna hesitate, not entirely sure of the answer himself, so the Arcobaleno sighed and answered for him. "His dad's a higher up member of the Vongola, a notorious mafia family in Italy." The two children paused, Tsuna in horrified anger and Hibari in contemplation.

"I have heard of the Vongola," Hibari admitted reluctantly, eyes locked onto Tsuna speculatively. The brunet fidgeted at the look, though Hibari didn't seem to notice. "My family comes from a long line of criminals and law enforcement alike, and so Vongola is a name not unknown in this household." His eyes then moved to the child on Tsuna's shoulder, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "But why would a child like you know of the Vongola?"

Skull tensed a little before heaving a sigh and taking off his helmet. While Hibari bared his teeth at the piercings Skull gestured to the pacifier around his neck. "I am known as an Arcobaleno." When the nine year old scowled at the word Skull gave a grim smile. "Your uncle told you then?"

"The basics," he grunted and, at Tsuna's confused look, reluctantly explained. "Arcobaleno are the seven strongest members of the mafia, chosen through some unknown method, and forced to remain young until sometime passes. That's all he told me."

Skull hummed a little, patting Tsuna on the head a little when the seven year old turned to give him a surprised look. "That really is the basics of it all. I can probably fill in some more if you want."

Tsuna beat Hibari to his question. "How long have you been like this?"

Skull put his helmet back on and wringed his hands a little. "About 30 years now."

"What?!" Tsuna yelped, but Hibari bulldozed over his next attempted question.

"How are you chosen?" he demanded, leaning closer in his desire to know.

"The generation's strongest Flames are chosen."

"Flames?"

Skull gulped a little. The others were going to murder him for telling so much to two civilians, and _children_ at that. But they needed to know; their lives were in danger so long as Iemitsu lived and Tsuna and his mother stayed in Namimori. Here's hoping he doesn't come to regret this decision later. Taking a deep breath, Skull jumped onto the table in between the two boys, positioned himself so that both had full view of his front and opened his hands.

And summoned his flames.

The room was thrown into an eerie light by the dancing purple flames, which around skulls hands and forearms and made the helmet he'd put back on a more ominous visage. Something in Tsuna called out at the sight of those flames, and he could tell that Hibari felt the same way, the other boy leaning even closer though few would have noticed that he had moved at all.

"There are seven Flames overall," Skull began, letting his Flames retreat back down to only his hands. "Sky, Cloud, Rain, Storm, Mist, Lightning, and Sun. Each person has at least one Flame lying inside them; mine is Cloud." He let the purple fire grow smaller, until he had a tiny flame on the tip of each finger and nothing else. "Each Flame has its own unique ability as well, to be used in combat. The mafia almost exclusively uses Flames in their fights." One by one Skull let the flames on his fingertips flicker away, until they were all gone and the children were staring fixedly at his hands.

The silence that followed was almost suffocating, the voice in Tsuna's head crying out mournfully at the loss of the brilliant purple flames, orange hazing over his eyes. The child spoke up after a minute of silence, and he didn't even recognize his own voice. "You need to train us, Skull-kun." Hibari nodded stiffly as Skull looked at them before resignedly dropping his helmeted face into his hands.

"The others are going to _murder_ me when they find out," Skull said, but the implied agreement had a smile breaking free on Tsuna's face as Hibari scoffed and minutely relaxed.

"Like we'll let them. Interfering Arcobaleno will be bitten to death." Tsuna couldn't help but laugh a little as Skull wordlessly groaned in response to Hibari's declaration.

"We'll start working on your Flames in a few days or something; I have to get an aquarium for Oodako."

Tsuna blinked a little in confusion. "Who's Oodako?"

* * *

Oodako, apparently, was Skull's giant pet octopus that either hadn't seen Skull in a long time or enjoyed hugs, as it had shrunk down to a more manageable size before clinging onto Skull with what looked like no intention of letting go.

Skull didn't seem to mind though, if his giggling and just as strong hug back were anything to go by. "How did he shrink?" Tsuna found himself asking, curiosity pushing him past the insanity around him.

"Oodako is my Flame animal companion," Skull explained. "And the trait of Cloud Flames is Propagation, which in Oodako's case means that he can grow or shrink as he wishes. Oodako," he finally called for the octopus' attention, which he easily gained, "This is Tsuna-nii; we'll be staying at his house for a while, okay?"

While Oodako gave a close approximation to a nod, Tsuna cocked his head to the side. "Why do you keep calling me Tsuna-nii? We both know you're actually older now."

Skull stopped and looked at Tsuna, his eyes a bit guarded. "Well, for a number of reasons. For one, it doesn't seem as weird for a child to act like this than if you deferred to me. For another…senpai doesn't have any good connotations for me," Skull shrugged awkwardly at that, and something – Tsuna was beginning to suspect it might be a hint of his Flame – hissed in displeasure to something Tsuna himself couldn't quite see. And that made him wary.

"Finally," Skull grinned a little here, "It's kind of fun calling you Tsuna-nii. Unlike the other Arcobaleno, I don't really mind acting like an actual little kid. Plus it gets on their nerves." The purple-haired baby cackled for a moment, likely reminiscing on something that had amused him, and Tsuna's lips twitched a bit as well. He could imagine the faces Skull would get for acting like a five year old around other adults stuck in five year old bodies.

While Tsuna was thinking about this, Skull was adjusting Oodako so that the little octopus was on his back like an absurd backpack, his helmet on the motorcycle which Oodako had previously been guarding. The two then started heading back to the house to ask his mom if they could go buy an aquarium. "So how much of this did you want to tell your kaa-san?" he asked, looking curious as Tsuna rapidly paled.

Oh yeah. He'd forgotten about that.

"I don't know; she deserves to know, but I don't want her to worry too much," Tsuna fretted a little, looking to Skull for his opinion.

The Arcobaleno was silent for a moment, obviously going through the pros and cons of telling Tsuna's mom about what was going on. "She's an adult," he finally decided. "We'll just ask her what she wants to know, and work from there."

Tsuna nodded immediately to that, some of his tension draining away. His mom, while a bit air-headed, did have good instincts and would ask anything she truly wanted to know about. Tsuna took a deep breath and entered his house. "Kaa-san, Skull-kun and I are back!"

"Welcome back Tsu-kun, Skull-chan!" His mother appeared from the kitchen, offering the two some onigiri as a snack. "How was your meeting with Hibari-kun?"

"Very informative," he told her a bit dryly, before a serious expression took over his features. "And Skull has more information, about tou-san and those people attacking us. But we'll tell you only what you want to know."

His mother stared at him for a moment, her eyes widened and suddenly much more aware than how she'd appeared moments before. Nana studied her son intensely for a moment before asking, "Have you made plans for if those people come back?"

"Yes," Tsuna answered immediately, straightening. "Skull-kun will train Hibari-senpai and I on ways to defend ourselves from the men…but kaa-san, what about you? Do you want to train with us?"

Skull looked surprised by the offer but didn't seem against the idea. In fact, he looked pleased and proud of Tsuna, which actually embarrassed Tsuna a little; he hadn't seen anyone but his mom look proud of him in a long while. Nana hummed thoughtfully to herself, and looked ready to reject when Skull interjected. "At least come to the first one, kaa-san," he requested softly. "Hibari-san can get you fitted with a Tazer or some pepper spray if you don't want to continue."

Still looking reluctant, Nana agreed, and it made a knot of worry in Tsuna's stomach disappear. At the bare minimum, his mom would be able to defend herself for a little while from attackers. He cleared his throat a little in an attempt to hide how blatant his relief was, and continued. "Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Not right now," she assured them. "A lot of this is your Papa's to tell, and he'll do so when he's ready." Tsuna couldn't stop a grimace from forming on his face, and saw Skull twitch out of the corner of his eye. "Now," she clapped her hands to break the silence that had fallen around them. "What else did you want to talk about?"

Tsuna grinned; his mom's instincts were still quite sharp. "We were wondering if we could go buy some stuff for Oodako."

"And who's Oodako?" Nana asked curiously, smile widening a bit at Tsuna's enthusiasm. When the octopus obligingly showed itself from on Skull's back, his mom cooed at the creature. "How cute! What does he eat? And salt or freshwater?"

"He's a saltwater creature," Skull told her, happy to talk about his companion. "And he doesn't need to eat, but he likes clams as treats from time to time." Nana patted the octopus on the head for a moment before grabbing her purse and herding the boys out of the house.

* * *

"So what are we getting?" Tsuna asked curiously from behind Skull, examining the tanks as the Arcobaleno looked them over critically.

"A reasonably-sized tank and salt water filter for starters," Skull listed. "Some rocks and false seaweed for Oodako to cling to…or," Skull grinned as an idea came to him, "we can get some sand for the bottom and then we can get some anemone and clown fish for color!" He hopped a little in excitement at the thought, and nearly missed the confused look that Tsuna shot him.

"Why do we need to get both? Why not just some anemone or just some clown fish?" Tsuna was very genuine in his confusion, so Skull responded honestly back.

"Clown fish and sea anemone have what is known as a symbiotic relationship, which means they interact with each other a lot throughout their lives. Theirs is also called mutualistic, which means they benefit from one another. The clown fish is kept safe by the sea anemone, its home, because it isn't hurt by the sea anemone's stinging, and the sea anemone is kept safe because the clown fish keeps it healthy by eating little things that hurt it." Skull shrugged as he finished his explanation. "Because of this, I can't imagine getting sea anemone without clown fish or vice versa."

When he didn't hear anything behind him, Skull turned around to see Tsuna staring at him, looking amazed for some reason. The brunet answered his question before he could ask it. "You're really good at explaining things, Skull-kun." His eyes dropped a bit before shyly creeping back up. "Just…that actually made sense, and normally things don't really make sense to me."

Skull smiled gently at Tsuna to hide how his chest tightened at the boy's words. "People learn differently, Tsuna-nii," he chirped. "And I was once a tutor before I was a stuntman, so I like to think I'm not too bad at explaining things."

"You're not bad!" Tsuna exclaimed, shaking his head in vigorous denial to Skull putting himself down. "You're…you're really good, Skull-kun."

Skull smiled at the boy, ignoring the way his face warmed at the other's praise. "Thanks, Tsuna-nii. That actually means a lot to me." It really did, surprisingly enough, and Tsuna could probably tell if the way his own smile grew was anything to go by.

* * *

*Omake*

_What the hell!_ Skull grabbed his hair and fell to his knees, not sure how to take the sight before him. _This is getting ridiculous! I though priests were supposed to be _celibate_!_

Ryohei, unaware of the false child's mini-meltdown, continued running down the street whilst shouting out the occasional "EXTREME!"

*End Omake*

* * *

The wheel is slowly beginning to turn! We'll see more of the odd jobs Skull has done over the years as he teaches Tsuna bits and pieces of the things he's learned over the years. I actually managed to finish writing this chapter early, so I'm posting it a bit earlier than planned. Everyone's kind words have definitely helped me keep the muse going, so thanks everyone!

Please review.

Ja ne!


	3. Setting the Skies Alight

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Setting the Skies Alight

* * *

His mother had gone to their first meeting, but wasn't interested in continuing to learn about the Flames or ways to defend herself, to Tsuna's disappointment and Hibari and Skull's silent disapproval. Nonetheless, Hibari saw the importance of her ensured safety as a citizen of Namimori and got her a Tazer, which she was instructed in the proper use of.

"At least she'll be somewhat safer," Skull offered half-heartedly, but Tsuna still frowned a little at his mother's refusal to learn how to properly defend herself. His dad wouldn't always be around to do so. Heck, his dad never _was_ around to do so. Her insistence on remaining unaware of everything going on around them didn't make any sense to Tsuna at all. "Some people are like that, Tsuna-nii," Skull told him sadly. "They don't want to be able to stand on their own, and you can't make them either."

"I guess," Tsuna agreed reluctantly. What else could he do?

"Hn," Hibari grunted a few feet away from them, face set in a scowl at the point of the conversation. "Small animals that are used to being held will drown if placed in a tub of water," was all he had to say on the matter, to Tsuna's confused horror and Skull's grim nod.

"On that note," The purple-haired child cut in, ready to move on to something they _could_ go about fixing. "Tsuna, what does it feel like when you reach for your Flame?"

In the week they had been training, Hibari had already succeeded in producing small flashes of purple around his hands, to his smug satisfaction if the way he prowled around town hours longer than usual, looking for people to bite to death with purple flashes on his tonfas was anything to go by. Tsuna, on the other hand, was going nowhere with the training.

"It…feels like I'm grabbing at smoke," Tsuna tried to explain, racking his mind for a way to simplify what he was feeling outside of what he knew it to be. "Like I'm almost there, I almost got it, and then it's gone." It was frustrating to know that his instincts, or Intuition as Skull had told him it was called, could access his Flames so easily when he couldn't at all.

Skull hummed thoughtfully at that before asking what appeared to be a non-sequitur. "And after you lose that feeling, do you feel clumsier afterwards? Like everything's off balance?"

Tsuna didn't have to think twice about that. "Yes. I fall over a lot more, and the Flame feels farther aware if my Intuition acts up."

The look in Skull's eyes could never in anyway be considered a good one. "I think I know what your hang-up is, Tsuna-nii, and you aren't going to like it. But I need to check first." He gestured the taller boy closer and Tsuna obeyed without hesitation, kneeling down for Skull to be able to reach him more easily. The purple-haired baby smiled at him in thanks then placed a tiny hand on Tsuna's forehead. "I'm going to pulse my Flame through you; it's a type of scanning trick used by medics to check their patients' vitals. Alright?"

Tsuna nodded his understanding and Skull smiled a little more before closing his eyes, Tsuna instinctively following along. In the darkness behind his eyelids, the brunet saw a small purple light glow in the corner of his eyes, always in his peripheral where he couldn't quite see it. A heat then began to wash over him, starting at the top of his head before creeping down, behind his eyes then making his ears burn. It continued its path, following his extremities and making his fingers tingle before going to his chest. It seemed to find what it was looking for around there, and an almost-pain began to throb behind his sternum before the heat vanished, taking the pain with it.

The child opened his eyes to see Skull's purple ones staring back, something dark and dangerous in their depths. "Skull-kun?" he finally asked after a minute of nothing but stares, the silence getting to him. "What did you find?"

That seemed to wake the baby as he jumped back a little before letting loose a torrent of what Tsuna assumed to be Italian, none of it sounding particularly kind. When Skull began adding _hand gestures_ to his words, Tsuna silently turned away, staring instead at Hibari who continued to watch Skull with an increasingly more amused look on his face, though his eyes and twitching lip were really the only things that gave away his amusement.

"Apparently," Skull finally groaned in Japanese, back in his right mind, "someone sealed your Flames away. That would be fine normally, but for two things: one, we're trying to use them, but can't because they're sealed from your immediate reach; two, from what I gathered, your Flames were actually very integrated into your…entire being. The sealing threw off your balance because everything feels off to you now."

Tsuna felt like the ground was falling away beneath his feet at his "younger brother's" words. "So…so I trip and fall and everyone calls me Dame because…because my Flames were sealed away?" At Skull's reluctant nod the orange haze started to descend over his vision again, but this one felt wrong. It was an orange haze of anger and resentment and betrayal, because it didn't take much to realize that his father had to have at least some part in this, and that was the final nail in the coffin as far as he was concerned.

"How…how could he?" Tsuna heard a voice ask, echoing in his mind over and over again. "He's my father. Shouldn't he protect me? Shouldn't he keep me safe? Shouldn't he _care_ for me beyond what I can bring to his precious mafia group? His kind," the voice deadened more, and Tsuna distantly realized that it was his voice that he was hearing, "are the worst. I hate them. _I hate him._"

Heat licked at his skin and Tsuna looked down blankly to see fire on his hands for the first time in his life.

But pain was also radiating there, as if his Flames were acting like something they weren't meant to be, and it actually hurt for them to be this way. There was a small tug on his pants, and Tsuna looked further down to see Skull staring back, concern on his face. He wasn't scared though, and Tsuna clung to that, a hand dropping down and grabbing Skull's wrist desperately.

Skull twitched, but didn't react otherwise, and it wasn't until the smell of something burning reached Tsuna that he realized why he did so and the just like that the haze was gone, the fire snuffing out like it was never there before he could further burn Skill's wrist. Slowly, Tsuna released his grip, and stared in detached horror at the burn branded onto Skull's pale skin.

"Don't worry, Tsuna-nii," Skull said soothingly, reaching out with his other hand to grab at Tsuna's before he could fully retreat. "You didn't hold on for too long. Look," he requested when the brunet tried to look away, and Tsuna obediently watched as purple Flames sprung up around the burn, making it shrink before his very eyes before vanishing completely. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me on purpose, Tsuna-nii. It's okay to be sad."

And something about those words finally made their way into Tsuna's mind and broke whatever shroud of apathy that had fallen over him, and he fell to his knees in front of his tiny mentor. "Skull," he gasped, pulling the child into his arms. "I'm…I'm so sorry!" And then the tears started falling, Skull making comforting sounds that only worsened Tsuna's grief because _oh god, what had he almost done_? He'd hurt _Skull_, just for being there. He cried into Skull's hair, mumbling apologies every few sobs, and Skull just let him release his fear and anger and sadness without trying to stop him or simplify his sorrow.

When his cries finally quieted to a few sniffs and his grief had fled, leaving behind an empty feeling, Skull finally patted him on the chest. "Feeling better?"

"No," Tsuna told him sullenly, looking up to find Hibari staring at the two of them with the wariness of a person not looking forward to being dragged into an emotional group hug.

"I would be surprised if you did," Skull admitted, shifting to sit more comfortably on Tsuna's lap. "But do you feel less bad?"

"…I suppose." His previous actions flashed through Tsuna's mind and he winced. "I'm sorry Skull. I don't know what just happened. Were those my Flames? They felt so _wrong_." Tsuna didn't want to use his Flames if all they brought were pain and destruction.

"I don't think those were your true Flames, Tsuna," Skull comforted. "You didn't notice, but they had left slight burns on your hands. That means your Flames were doing something they weren't supposed to and that caused the backlash of hurting you as well. Those were what are called the Flames of Wrath. They're basically powered by angered. Your anger over knowing your Flames had been sealed away seemed to compound with the frustration that's been building all this time and your Flames became Wrath ones to slip past the seal."

That made Tsuna sigh in relief. So those weren't his true Flames, just a form they could take. "Does that mean that the seal is gone?"

"Check," Skull encouraged, hopping out of his lap to give a little more room. "At the very least the seal should've weakened a bit, so you might be closer to reaching them."

Tsuna nodded and closed his eyes, his hands naturally resting on his knees as he delved into himself to try and find the flickering light. He found it, the light a little larger than when he last saw it, a torch rather than a handful of flame. He reached out, curled his fingers around it…

And opened his eyes to a world tinged orange, the colors around him standing out like beacons declaring their presence for all the world to see. He glanced at Hibari, to see the boy staring fixedly at him, his eyes widened minutely in surprise, then turned to look at Skull. Pride, so much pride it hurt Tsuna to see it all directed at him, shined in the baby's purple eyes. "Well done, Tsuna-nii." He said, offering a small mirror that Tsuna looked into. Staring back at him was glowing amber eyes and a sputtering Flame on his forehead, tiny and tentative but _there_, and the brunet could only smile at the feeling of accomplishment that overcame him.

And then he passed out, Flame exhaustion getting to him.

* * *

Skull laughed, his incredulity finally getting to him now that Tsuna was asleep. Tsuna _would_ skip straight to entering a Dying Will Mode on his first attempt to properly use his Flames. If there was anything he had learned about the Sawada family in the ten days he'd lived with them, it was that they defied all expectation, whether that be in a good or bad way. "Hibari-san," he called, looking over at the still raptly staring nine year old. "Can you help? I can't carry him, and I would have to postpone our training sessions if Tsuna-nii got sick."

Hibari threw him an annoyed look at the blackmail he'd tacked on to the end of his plea, but grudgingly stood and threw the seven year old onto his back. Since they were in the older boy's backyard (to reduce the number of questioning looks the flashes would receive), it didn't take them long to move the boy into the house and place him on a couch. Hibari patted Tsuna's pockets and extracted his phone, tossing it to Skull. "Call the herbivore's mother. He's staying until he can walk himself home."

If Skull had to guess behind the reasoning of that command, it was probably because Hibari didn't want to carry Tsuna any longer than he had to, Skull clearly couldn't do it himself, and Hibari had made a concentrated effort to keep Nana out of their affairs when she'd expressed no interest in continuing to train with them. And, if the sharp glare Hibari had locked onto him was indicative of something, he likely had some questions he wanted answered.

Skull dialed the Sawada home phone with the ease of familiarity (it may have only been ten days, but Tsuna and Nana had made sure that he knew the number by heart before they let him wander Namimore alone), and heard it ring once before Nana picked it up. _"Hello?"_

"Hi, kaa-san!" Skull chirped, a grin forming as Nana happily greeted him back. "Tsuna-nii had a breakthrough in our training, but it tired him out too much, so we're staying at Hibari's until Tsuna-nii is awake again."

"_Alright, Skull-chan. Have fun!"_

Skull closed the phone after that and put it on Tsuna's stomach before approaching the low table where Hibari had placed a teapot and two cups for Skull and himself. The nine year old was many things, but Skull would never call him a bad host. The Arcobaleno sat at one end of the table and took one of the cups, taking a sip from it idly.

Hibari sat across from him, staring at him suspiciously but more open than a week ago. When Skull placed his cup back down, the skylark began. "What did the herbivore do?"

"The flame on his forehead?" Skull clarified, and Hibari nodded. "He entered what is known as Dying Will Mode. Basically he entered a mode that removes a lot of physical limiters from the body for a limited amount of time. To put that into perspective with our training, Tsuna just ran before learning how to crawl."

Hibari raised an eyebrow at the child's tone. "And that is not good?"

Skull grimly shook his head. "You don't want to run everywhere, to only be able to expend a certain amount of energy no matter the circumstance. If I asked him to make shapes out of his Flames right now, a relatively simple trick once you get used to summoning your Flames, he would have to enter that Dying Will Mode to do so, and knock himself out half an hour later from pointlessly exerting his Flames. It isn't practical," he finished, but Hibari was already nodding his head in understanding by the end of it.

"It's not worth it to spend more energy catching the prey if you don't get just as much energy back."

Skull smiled into his tea and nodded. "Exactly." Hibari was surprisingly quick on the uptake, if you understood his animal metaphors. The question was if he could understand the human psyche, which at times couldn't be compared to that of an animal's.

Before the Arcobaleno could think of a way to ask such a thing, Hibari interrupted his thoughts, the nine year old's eyes allowing a curious spark to glow there. "What were his Flames? Mine are Cloud obviously, but what are orange Flames?"

"They're Sky Flames. Like Cloud Flames represent Propagation, Sky represents Harmony, and is thought to be a unification of the other six Flames in equal amounts in a body. Their wielders are considered the leaders of any group they are in, as they are the balance of the other six Flames and therefor are balanced mentally and emotionally."

Skull would have continued but a dark look flickered in the child's eyes and Hibari asked, "You are only telling me facts. What have you gathered on them?" What do you think of them, Skull mentally translated and grimaced a little.

"Skies can be good leaders," the purple-haired baby admitted, staring fixedly down at his tea. "As they represent Harmony they end intergroup conflicts faster than other Flames most of the time, second only to Rains in that regard, and they bring better unity to the group as a whole. It's just…" Skull's grip on his cup tightened for a moment before he remembered himself and relaxed before he cracked the cup. "It's been a long time since I've seen a good Sky. Tsuna will be the first _good_ Sky that I've seen in…" _Decades._ "A while," he ended lamely, but Hibari picked up on his reluctance to go further on that and stopped, letting the two finish their tea in a silence only broken by Tsuna's breathing.

* * *

"_I always wondered…"_

"_What?"_

"_Why are you only allowed one Guardian for each Flame?"_

"_Skull…"_

"_I'm serious! Outside of Sun, that doesn't make sense. When do you ever see only _one_ cloud in the sky? And is the sky only what you currently see, or the global one? Because if it's the latter, you'd definitely have more storms and rains and mists."_

"…_If there is one thing I can tell you, Skull, it's that _I don't want more than one Mist_."_

"_Nufufufu, you wound me Primo."_

* * *

Woo! More background for Skull, a hint of what the hell's going on, and Tsuna's Flames are unsealed! The next chapter will go a little into their training, but not much in all honesty. Let's just say that things rarely go as Skull plans them with pushy senpai like his around.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	4. Morsmordre

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Morsmordre

* * *

If there was one thing Reborn hated, it was owing someone. _Especially_ if that someone was someone that Reborn considered rather incompetent.

So the fact that he owed Skull for reporting a Vongola rat to him was infuriating on indescribable levels.

The world's greatest hitman played with his phone, contemplating calling the other to get a status update, before ultimately discarding that idea. The one thing that he and Colonello had made sure to beat into Skull's head was that he had to destroy his phone if he needed to back out on a job for his own safety. It had been two weeks already since his lackey had reported the leak and Reborn would shoot Skull himself if the other child hadn't destroyed the phone immediately after hanging up with Reborn.

_Hmm,_ black eyes narrowed in thought. _Maybe a new phone? The stupid lackey is so picky about the jobs he takes, he probably can't afford the kind of phone optimal for mafia business. That'll work, I suppose._ His brow furrowed in annoyance. _But how am I supposed to get it to him?_ He thought about it a moment longer then groaned aloud. He knew how to get Skull to Italy most efficiently.

Viper.

_The things I do to get out of people's debts,_ he swore mentally, opening his phone and looking through his contacts for the elusive Arcobaleno. _You'd better be grateful, Stupid Lackey._

* * *

Skull sneezed violently, rubbing his nose afterward and grateful that he'd started foregoing his helmet. Tsuna looked at him in concern from his spot nearby, remaining seated in a simple meditative position when he saw nothing amiss. "Are you alright, Skull-kun?"

"I'll bite you to death if you get sick, Infant," Hibari called from his spot on the patio, also in a meditative position, but with his eyes still closed as he hadn't bothered checking on Skull after he'd sneezed.

"Yeah, yeah," Skull groused, unbothered by threats of bodily harm from the nine year old at this point. "You and everyone else I've ever met." Before either of them could ask about what that meant Skull tossed a stick at Tsuna, which bounced harmlessly off his leg. "Eyes closed," he commanded, hiding a grin when Tsuna rolled his eyes at him before doing as he said.

"You're not asking your Flames to come out and fight beside you. Right _now_," he added in exasperation when Kyouya tried to glare at him through his eyelids. "Right now you're asking them to sit on your hand. You want them to get used to being outside of your body; that'll make it easier to summon them during battle if you need to. Once you get used to having your Flames out all the time, we can work on fighting with and without them."

There was silence following his words as the other two tried to do as he instructed in an effort to keep their Flames burning in their hands for as long as possible. When a flame started to appear on Tsuna's forehead Skull threw another stick at him and broke him out of his trance with a startled yelp. "Tsuna-nii! Stop grabbing at your Flames! _Ask_ them first! Imagine your Flames were a pretty girl; would you just grab her hand and drag her onto a dance floor or ask her first?"

Tsuna, being shy at the mere thought of the opposite sex and still trying to get out of his "girls have cooties" phase, blushed and made a face at the purple-haired boy but obediently tried again, his eyes falling shut once more. Once he was certain the brunet wasn't looking Skull snickered softly into his hand. Tsuna thought Skull actually knew things about the opposite sex; that's hilarious.

When he felt a burst of Cloud Flames to his right Skull wasn't surprised. "Hibari-san, stop _demanding_ your Flames obey you; they're your willpower, they're going to be just as stubborn about it as you are." You'd think the kid would have figured that out by now. Then again, he _was_ a Hibari, and Fon certainly owned quite the well of stubbornness at times. Skull heard the skylark grunt in annoyed understanding and smiled to himself.

Hibari was still very independent and headstrong, but he'd mellowed out a bit with the accessing of his Flames. Alaude had been somewhat similar; maybe the Hibari clan members were just snippy until they could control their Flames? Skull hummed at the thought and patted Oodako on the head, letting the octopus bask in the sunlight. Good thing he was a Flame companion or that would end poorly for him in normal circumstances.

While Skull was deep in thought, he was still aware enough to see his pacifier begin to glow, and that broke him out of his thoughts as he let out a startled squawk. "KeeppracticingI'llbebacksoon–" he managed to get out in a rush when he saw the Mist Flames wrapping around him and Tsuna and Hibari's eyes snapped open.

And then he was gone.

* * *

Viper watched with well concealed amusement as Skull popped into existence in front of her, hitting the ground with a thud and a wheeze as his breath was stolen from him. "That wasn't funny, Viper," the purple-haired baby groaned, his Flame companion making an agreeing sound and Viper's lips twitched slightly.

"Only because you have a horrible sense of humor," Viper countered dryly, bending down to help him stand. Once he was on his feet she held out her hand demandingly. "That'll be 10 euro."

Skull made a face at her but instead grabbed her hand with his own and began walking off, forcing her to go with him. "How about I just take you out to eat and we call it good? We're in Italy, right? The canals look familiar."

Viper tilted her head to the side, Phantasma not shifting on her head as she considered the value of Skull's company and a free meal in comparison to the 10 euro and nodded. "That sounds reasonable. And yes, we are currently in Venice."

"Wonderful. I would give up my arm for a cannolo right now."

Viper deadpanned, "That could be arranged," and watched as the other baby squawked at her in startled indignation and pulled his arms to his chest protectively, still not letting go of her hand. Unbidden, a faint smile appeared on her face. It was good to see Skull again.

Once they settled into a small café, and Skull wasted about three minutes trying to steal some of Viper's cannolo that he paid for, with the Mist Arcobaleno calmly countering each of his attempts with a steak knife made out of her Mist Flames. Skull pouted sullenly at her when she finally lost patience and stabbed his sleeve into the table before focusing again. "So what am I here for? I was trying to lay low after reneging on a job." _Well…sort of trying,_ he added mentally, wincing as he imagined the others' reactions to finding out what he has been up to in the two weeks he's been out of contact.

"I was made aware," Viper told her only friend, cloak keeping her eyes from view and thus hiding the way they hardened, though Phantsma may have given her away as he shifted slightly on her head. "Reborn called me and wanted me to teleport you here so that you could receive this." She laid a sleek cell phone on the table, and slid it to the Cloud Arcobaleno who grabbed it with his free hand. "I assume he believes that this repays the debt he owes you." Which it didn't, but Skull seemed willing to ignore that fact as Viper made a mental note on the matter.

Pale fingers swiped over the screen, checking to see what the phone was capable of. "Nice," Skull whistled. "This has quite a bit of memory. I could put Angry Birds on this without any problem!" Viper lifted her espresso to her face to hide the wicked amusement that curled on her lips. The others would likely never know how much she appreciated Skull's relentless attitude in regards to dragging the other Arcobaleno out of their shells through incessant childish mannerisms. "So how much did you charge him?" Skull asked her curiously, and a darkly satisfied look overcame her hidden features.

"Two times the normal price of one of Reborn's hits to have you sent here, another hit's worth to deliver you the phone." Skull whistled in awe and Viper allowed the Mists obscuring her face to recede slightly, so he could better see the pleased look on her face.

"Still trying to bleed the other Arcobaleno dry, huh?" he asked, and Viper scoffed into her drink.

"Of course. They deserve it." When Skull didn't say anything back, Viper glanced up to see him staring at her, eyes suspiciously bright.

"…Thanks." The voice was quiet, but Viper heard it anyway and bristled defensively.

"I have no idea why you'd say that. They have too much money for their own good; I'm just trying to even out the playing field."

"Whilst owning a hoard the size of Erebor's," Skull quipped back, and Viper sneered jokingly at him.

"You've read Tolkien, Skull? I wasn't sure you knew how to _open_ a book."

Skull just stuck his tongue out at her petulantly and Viper huffed a quiet laugh at his childishness. They finished their cannoli and drinks in ease, Viper pretending to ignore Skull as he made faces at her. When he pouted at getting no reaction out of her Viper allowed a slight smile to escape to appease him. "So what's been going on?" Skull finally asked her, and before she could name a figure that he'd have to pay her for that information the waitress placed a cup of gelato in front of her.

Viper wavered for a moment before accepting the implied payment and grumbling when Skull beamed at her. With a flick of her Mist Flames a paper fan appeared and whacked Skull on the head, startling a squawk out of him as he spun around to look for what hit him, Oodako peeking over his shoulder as well, only to find nothing. "Don't get smug," she sniffed when the Cloud Arcobaleno spun back around to shoot her a confused look.

Once she'd started on the gelato she began filling him in what she'd overheard thus far, idly using her Mist Flames to filter their conversation to something more innocuous for anyone listening in. "For starters, Massimo is dead."

Skull looked a little surprised at that. "That was Timoteo's kid right? Second son I think. His older brother…Emilio? Was killed earlier this year as well if I remember right."

"Enrico," Viper corrected. "And yes, he was killed in a gun fight a few months ago."

"Which is weird in itself," Skull said quietly. "He was the Vongola Boss' firstborn. Was he taking down seven people by himself? Because that's the only thing that seems reasonable for why he would lose and _die_."

Viper didn't comment on that; it was obvious that she found it just as suspicious as he did. "That leaves Federico left, who Nono is said to favor as the next Boss for Vongola Family anyway. Do you think Federico was just removing the competition?"

"If he was favored he still had a good chance of becoming the leader of the CEDEF," Skull countered. "And I never heard any rumors about there being tension between the brothers for inheriting the position when I was in Italy last. If anything, there were rumors about how well they got along despite at least one being left behind in the family business. And what about the fourth kid? Is he still on ice?"

"You haven't been in Italy in years," Viper reminded him. "And you are correct. Xanxus is still trapped in ice as punishment for attempting a coup a year ago. I have been helping screen those that enter the Varia since and checking that their loyalties remain solely with the branch and not the entire tree." Skull nodded slightly to that and Viper cocked her head to the side, sensing his contemplation. "What are you thinking about?"

"Did you know that, originally, the Arcobaleno were considered the final authority on matters?" Skull asked back, and Viper just went along with the seeming non-sequitur to see where the conversation was going.

"I did not."

"If there were any large disputes between Families, or if a loyal Family member was accused of treachery and sought sanctuary, the Arcobaleno would play mediators between the two parties, typically with the entire group helping with Family disputes and specific Arcobaleno mediating if someone of the same Flame as them was being persecuted. Then the Vindice and Cervello Family appeared around the era of the Fourth Vongola Boss, the Vindice enforcing the mafia laws and the Cervello playing mediator between groups, and so the Arcobaleno just fell from that duty, with them taking sides and swearing loyalty to different Families.

"Doing so wasn't considered a bad thing," Skull defended. "It's just interesting to see the Arcobaleno fall so far away from their original position as a type of final authority."

"I see," Viper hummed, taking note of all of that because Skull was right; it was very interesting to get an informal history lesson on the Arcobaleno over the years. As they talked, Oodako had moved to rest on the table, Phantasma jumping off of her head to perch on the octopus.

Then Skull asked her the question Viper had been looking the least forward to. "So what of the Estraneo? I was hearing bad things even years ago."

"They've only gotten worse," Viper admitted reluctantly, handing over a small folder that she brought into being before them. "That has all of the information I've managed to gather on the matter." Skull reached out and snatched the folder, flipping through it quickly. After all, "worse" is not something you want to hear about a group like the Estraneo.

"…They started experimenting on their _kids_?!" Horror and disgust showed plainly on the purple-haired baby's face as he read through the file, fury slowly replacing those emotions the farther he went. "Why hasn't anyone stopped them yet?!"

Viper shrugged, her own anger at the situation well-hidden. "It's all happening inside the Family. It's legal by mafia laws."

Skull snarled at that before a vicious, triumphant light appeared in his eyes. "Well, another law states that any Arcobaleno tortured while not being affiliated with any Family is allowed to kill off any of the guilty family that he or she wishes. There are actually a lot of laws that favor the Arcobaleno, but they're so old that no one really knows them anymore."

"Have the Estraneo tortured an Arcobaleno?" None of the others had mentioned such a thing…

"Once. They wanted to see how he ticked…he got out when they cut off his head to see if he'd recover from it." Skull's hand rose and briefly rubbed at his neck before looking away from Viper and returning to the folder, but the Mist Arcobaleno knew that it would be years before she'd have a chance of forgetting this conversation.

* * *

...I'm not sure if Federico should be alive right now, but he is for the time being. So Tsuna was sealed and named a _potential_ heir to the Vongola.

Try and guess what the name of this chapter is a reference to and why I used it. I'll probably reveal it in a few days as a Fun Fact on my tumblr.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	5. Many Much Mistin'

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Many Much Mistin'

* * *

Rokudo Mukuro hated his family. He's hated them since he was six, when they dragged him from his bed and put him through test after test to try and make themselves renowned once more. He gritted his teeth, Ken snarling under his breath and Chikusa tensing beside him when they heard footsteps sound outside their room, but paused.

Listening carefully, they could tell that the footsteps were hurried, as if the person was trying to get away. And then the screams started, thuds reaching even their ears as what sounded like a massacre took place just outside their room, the sounds of rattling chains filling them with a sense of forboding. When it finally quieted, they were contemplating relaxing when the door was _ripped off its hinges_. The three stared at the gaping hole that had once been a hole before dropping their gaze and staring some more.

A child stood there, his arms grotesquely muscled. His hair was a messy purple, and piercings were scattered on his face, blood that likely wasn't his splashed on his forehead. His outfit was a black and purple leather one that hid any stains that may have been there. Mukuro was broken from his examination as the kid walked into the room, eyes sweeping the room before locking onto them.

"Are you three alright?" The kid asked, coming closer when he saw the restraints holding them down. "Anything broken? Torn?"

Mukuro narrowed his eyes distrustfully at the child but didn't bother trying to possess him. If he was getting them out of their binds of his own free will that was even better. "No to both questions."

The child seemed to pick up on his distrust and was equally skeptical to his statement. "Right…" Nonetheless, he began to undo Mukuro's restraints first, but the nine year old was perceptive enough to feel the brush of Flames. He was about to retaliate when he felt them retreat once more, and reached the conclusion that they were only to check his vitals. When the child finished untying him Mukuro got off the table and stood tall, the two of them finally getting a good look at the other.

That was when the child stared fixedly at his face for a full minute, one eye twitching sporadically. "Do you have a creepy laugh?" The kid asked him with a serious face.

Mukuro blinked at such a strange question before deciding to just go with it. "Kufufu, I've been told that it is." He then watched with growing amusement as the child stared at him for a moment before violently smacking himself in the forehead.

"This is such bullshit," the kid muttered as he moved to release Chikusa, Mukuro doing the same with Ken. "You're not even just his descendant; you're straight up Daemon's _clone_."

The Mist Flame user cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing in suspicion once more. "What do you mean?" He asked the child silkily, the numbers in his eyes shifting a little, still not completely under his control. "Who is this Daemon you mentioned?"

"Daemon Spade is a Mist user from about 150 years ago who worked with a vigilante group for some time before working with the mafia. He looks exactly like you just with two blue eyes and a smaller…tuft on the back of his head," the child informed him, not even bothering to beat around the bush as Chikusa sat up and began checking himself over. "It's like the universe isn't even trying to be subtle about it. Because seriously, what the actual fuck?!" Now the kid was ranting, waving his tiny arms to demonstrate his annoyance. "Not once have I heard someone mention children who are the spitting images of members of a former vigilante group but with different hair colors, let alone news on a person who could be the _actual second coming of his ancestor_. The mafia has only gotten more oblivious since I was last here."

Mukuro laughed a little at that, deciding to ignore how doing so instigated another twitch from the child for the time being. But he was also a little mystified; this child said that he greatly resembled what he assumed to be his ancestor from 150 years ago. And he worked with a vigilante group for some time. The mafia has betrayed the nine year old for years now…perhaps learning of his vigilante ancestor will give him something he can actually trust. "And can we have the name of our little savior?" He asked, peering down at the child curiously as Chikusa and Ken took their places beside him.

The child grinned. "Skull, the greatest stuntman in the world!" He introduced, making a flamboyant bow that Mukuro was surprised didn't topple him over. "And you three are?"

"I am Rokudo Mukuro and these are my subordinates." When he didn't bother introducing them the two did it themselves.

"Ken," the blonde said curtly, baring his fangs a little at the child.

"Chikusa." The bluenette barely bothered glancing at Skull as he said his name.

The purple-haired child didn't seem bothered by it however and simply nodded happily back at them before a crash echoed outside their room. The nine and eight year olds all tensed but Skull brightened, running back outside. "Oodako! Don't kill them all by yourself!" The three followed warily behind him before pulling up short when they walked out the doorway.

…why on earth was there a _giant octopus_ in the middle of the hallway?

Skull didn't acknowledge their confusion, running over to the octopus and slashing his hand to the side. To their surprise the octopus obeyed, tossing the men into the wall and turning to men that were still shooting at it, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off of the creature's armor. The purple-haired child ducked under one of the swinging tentacles, kicking a man near the creature hard in the solar plexus and making him collapse gasping for air against a wall.

Then a tentacle smashed into him, crushing his throat without a second thought. Mukuro, Ken, and Chikusa stared at the havoc that the child and octopus were wreaking on their Family and tormentors, before a grin crossed Ken's face and he joined in on the chaos, Chikusa a step behind him with his yoyo recovered from the room they had been locked in. Mukuro joined in alongside his subordinates, his eye flickering wildly before a horde of hissing serpents appeared on the ground around them, their eyes set on the Estraneo adults.

Shadowy wolves lurked in the corners of the hallway before dispersing through the building, more screams starting up as the creatures sunk their fangs into more of the researchers and began dragging them to the hallway they were staying in to join the bodies piling up on the ground. One researcher broke away from his shepherds and was making a run for it before a chain speared him through, dragging an agonized cry out of him and making Mukuro sneer.

"How easily you cry," he mocked softly, his snakes creeping up the man's body as he writhed in fear. "When you did far worse to us _with a smile on your face_." His snakes bit into the man's neck then, silencing him for good. He turned away in disgust, only to come face to face with the child. The blood smattered on his head blended gruesomely with his hair, but Mukuro ignored that in favor of staring at the child's eyes. For while they had clearly seen what he had just done, there was no judgment there, only dark understanding.

Skull looked away again, grabbing a passing hound's ruff and hauling himself onto its back. A flash of purple and the wolf suddenly became ten wolves, all snarling and baying at the petrified scientists that they fell upon with rabid abandon. Skull jumped off its back as it joined the dog pile and ran back to the octopus, sliding a little on his knees as a snake lunged over him to get to the scientist behind him. Ken ran past him as well, stripes on his face from his Tiger Channel, and lunged at a man that was trying to get away.

Mukuro watched him curiously, disintegrating needles coming too close to him that had probably gone astray from Chikusa's yoyo. A moved finger had a tentacle stretched out that the child jumped onto and used as a ramp to reach some of the scientists in the octopus' grip that hadn't had their ribs cave in yet or been made into human pincushions by the bespectacled boy. One of the scientists there finally caught a good look at Skull's face, and screamed even harder. "How?" He asked, terrified and thrashing even harder to try and escape. "You…you should be dead!"

"I get that a lot," Skull told him, smile anything but kind. "I'm just kind of hard to kill." He closed his left hand then, and the man let out a choked scream as the octopus obediently tightened its hold and crushed his chest, puncturing his lungs and heart. The octopus loosened its grip, letting the corpse hit the ground with a sickening thud, and Skull continued jumping higher and higher up the creature's body until he was sitting on its head.

This continued for at least thirty more minutes, the four of them mercilessly killing any scientists they found in the building. They freed other children they found, many of whom then joined them in the carnage while those who shied away from it sat on the octopus, too afraid to stray far from their saviors. When they finished, the floors were stained dark red and no one above the age of 20 was left alive in the building. Mukuro sat on Oodako's head alongside Ken, Chikusa and Skull, staring at one man in particular whose face had been frozen in an expression of agony. His father.

And while the blood that was spilled on this day wouldn't truly heal them, it made their broken pieces a little less jagged, what was still whole a little less brittle, and that was enough for them. And then a dark portal rippled in front of them, and the calm silence that had befallen them was broken. The rattling of chains filled the air, and two people stepped out, their faces obscured by thick bandages.

The Vendice, the most feared group in the mafia.

The two men looked around at the carnage, glancing at all of the children for a moment before freezing, their eyes locked on Skull. "Cloud Arcobaleno," one rasped, the other walking closer to Oodako. "What has happened here?"

"Inner Family conflict," the purple-haired child told them shortly, hopping down to stand on the ground before them. "The children of the Estraneo have killed their torturers and Family members, as is their right."

"As is their right," the one that had spoken before agreed. "But what right did you have to interfere? The Arcobaleno are –"

"Are strictly neutral if they have no current ties to any Family; I know, Schneider." Skull's voice softened somewhat as he said that, the man he was speaking to flinching minutely before subtly leaning closer. "But they also have the right to kill any that they wish of a Family that has tortured them if they were neutral at the time. As they have done to me."

Schneider remained suspiciously silent, and the one closest to Skull spoke up. "Do you have proof of this accusation? Compatriot you may be, but evidence must always be presented to justify such a claim."

"I do indeed have proof." The child turned to have his back facing the Vendice, and Mukuro heard Ken inhale sharply at such a large show of trust. Skull unzipped a little of his leather outfit and shoved it off of his shoulders. The Vendice went silent, staring intently at Skull's left shoulder blade, their chains rattling ominously around them. "After I tricked them into believing that their experiments killed me for good, they branded me with this mark, using Storm Flames as those would have consumed my body and left no trace if my Cloud Flames hadn't contained them to the brand." Skull turned back around again, and Mukuro gave himself better eyesight to see what the child had presented them.

1911:IA FAILURE

"Experiment 1911 of the failed Immortal Army project," Skull told the Vendice, and Schneider disappeared from sight, leaving the other behind. The child awkwardly zipped his suit back up, and smiled at the bandaged man still there. "How have you been, Panzer? Has the pain gone away any?"

The Vendice hesitated for a moment before bobbing a small nod at the Arcobaleno. "It never goes away, as you well know," He told the other with a voice that echoed all around them. "But it has become more bearable."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Skull asked him, worry clear in his voice. "I have Flames to spare."

"That would be…appreciated, Skull. Thank you." The words sounded awkward being said by a member of what was considered the most feared group in the mafia world, but the gratitude was genuine and Skull smiled brightly at him in response. Purple Flames soon filled Skull's hands and he approached the other one without any fear, grabbing onto the hand the adult had reached down to him. They stayed like that until the other Vendice returned, and Skull let go of Panzer to do the same to Schneider.

"You evidence has been verified," Schneider told the child as he filled him with Cloud Flames to dull the pain that always lingered in his body. "You were in the right to kill any that you saw fit, as per the laws regarding the Arcobaleno. You and the children are free to go."

"Thanks Schneider. It was good to see you and Panzer again."

The two men nodded and disappeared into another dark portal that rippled into existence beside them, which then winked back out of existence. Skull sighed in the silence that followed and turned to look at the children behind him. "Are you guys ready to get out of here?" he asked them, a wave of murmured agreements rose up in response. The tiny child led them out of the building, many of the former Estraneo children blinking owlishly at the afternoon light as it washed over them.

None of them knew how long it had been since they had last seen the sun.

The children all hesitated when they all finally exited the building. Where would they go now? They were uninterested in staying in the mafia, with the life they had just led, but all of their relatives were involved in the Italian Underworld. Before the fear of the unknown set it, a tiny voice they were now somewhat used to piped up. "Hello, 112? My friends and I just got out of our parents' houses, 'cause they hit us and called us worthless. Can you come pick us up? Our address…" Skull continued on, giving the police their relative location and promising to stay put.

The purple-haired child hung up the phone soon after, and smiled at the kids. "If you guys stay here, the police will find a good home for you," he told them, Oodako beginning to disentangle himself from the mass of children and teens. When all of the clingers were gone the octopus shrunk to his more manageable size, and Skull picked him up and placed him on his head. Waving the children farewell as the sound of police sirens began to fill the air, the Arcobaleno turned and sprinted off, keeping close to the shadows.

Several sharp turns and double-backs later, Skull found himself sitting by a canal, his legs swinging freely over the ledge. Someone soon sat down next to him, but Skull didn't look up as a familiar frog jumped onto his shoulder and nuzzled his neck. "How much of that did you decide to watch?" He asked instead, staring down into the water flowing silently below them.

He heard Viper scoff. "How much do you think I watched?" She asked him back, not even trying to hide her motives.

"So all of it," Skull translated easily, watching as Oodako crawled over to rest in Viper's lap. "I told you to let me handle it."

"And I did," the Mist Arcobaleno countered, giving him an unimpressed look. "I simply tagged along as…moral support."

"Moral support that I couldn't even see?" He asked her dubiously, and the look she shot him was as scathing as any highborn lady could make it.

"Aren't those the best kinds?" Skull hummed in agreement and the two sat there in a content silence for a few more moments before Viper ruined it. "By the way, you owe me 1000 euros."

Skull was surprised he didn't get whiplash with how quickly he turned to look at her. "EH?! What for?!"

"800 for being your moral support." If the Mists weren't hiding her face right then, Skull had no doubt that there would have a smile to put the cat that ate the canary to shame. "200 for an observer's fee."

"_You_ were the one observing _me_!" Skull cried out, waving his arms at the ridiculousness of it all. "You should be paying me!"

"I took time out of my day to watch you fight," she reminded him drolly. "As such, you owe me 200 euros for that alone."

Before Skull could further argue that Viper tensed, and then a hair-raising laugh started behind them. "Kufufufu. So this is where our little savior ran off to."

* * *

"_Agh, my head. What the hell happened last night?"_

"_You were celebrating taking the mantle as the Fifth Boss of the Vongola and had a little too much to drink. Honestly Angelino, you're such a light-weight for being a "hot-blooded Italian male"."_

"_Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. The only reason you're not hung-over is because of your Cloud Flames."_

"_Don't hate the other person involved, hate the situation."_

"_Whatever…why is there a butterfly tattoo on my forehead?"_

"_You lost a bet last night and that was your wager, from what I gathered. You and all of your Guardians had to get the tattoo."_

"_Dammit, I told you to keep an eye on me if I drank too much!"_

"_I did! I even followed you to the tattoo parlor. I got my butterfly on my inner right arm."_

"_You're an awful Cloud Guardian, Skull. I'm just going to say it now and it hasn't even been a full day yet."_

"_Oh don't be such a child Angelino. If you want it gone so badly I can change the ink pigment and make it blend into your skin with my Cloud Flames."_

"_No no. I was the idiot, I have to live with it. Besides, imagine what they'll think of us decades down the line. The Generation of the butterfly-tattooed Vongola Quinto and his equally oddly-tattooed Guardians."_

"_Songs will be sung of our adventures, I'm sure."_

* * *

So, next chapter we'll be headed back home! I hope Mukuro was in-character. He trolls me when he gets the chance, so I did my best.

So, this chapter actually has two trivia points: The chapter title is a reference to something (I will be impressed if anyone recognizes it), and the names of the two Vendice introduced in this chapter are a reference to something. Your hint: It has something to do with another known Vendice, Jaeger, and no it isn't that their names are all German. There's more to it than that.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	6. Homecoming

Don't own KHR.

Don't own Cover Art.

Note: The first person to figure out the trivia regarding Jager, Panzer, and Schneider was anonymous reviewer Aya!

Homecoming

* * *

Mukuro smiled deviously as the purple-haired child spun around while the blue haired one grabbed him by his suit and hovered into the air, putting some distance between the nine year old and them. "What do you want, little Estraneo?" The blue-haired one goaded, and Mukuro glared at them in response, his red eye glowing with the force of the surge of anger he felt wash over him for a brief moment.

"_Don't_ call me that," he spat coldly, making a snake lunge at the child only to have it disappear as it was immolated in mid-air. "And I am here to talk to our little savior." As he said "our", Mukuro spread out his arms, taking off the illusion hiding Ken and Chikusa from view on either side of him. The blue-haired one looked unsurprised and Skull took their presence with the ease of a person expecting them to be there. Beside him Ken and Chikusa were wary, but not blatantly distrustful. After all, Skull wasn't like any other outsider they'd met thus far. "What do you plan to do now, Arcobaleno?" The word felt odd on his tongue, still not used to the title, but he ignored for the time being.

Skull seemed perfectly fine with sitting on nothing as his companion abruptly let go of his suit (and it caused an odd pang in the nine year old, to see such a strong display of trust between the Mist and Cloud users) and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Probably head back to Japan, to be honest," the child confessed with ease. The Mist beside him jerked a little, and Skull's eyes immediately went to them. "What's up, Viper?"

The Mist – Viper – tapped their foot on the air for a moment, before heaving a sigh. "I was going to offer you a job," they finally admitted, looking away awkwardly. "Due to recent events, my employers are searching for a Cloud Guardian. And I confess to not wanting to work with any other Cloud; I likely wouldn't get along with them."

Skull shot the other child a sympathetic look but seemed firm. "Sorry Viper, I already made a promise to another in Japan. I told him I would help keep him safe, and you know how I am about my promises."

Viper nodded in reluctant understanding. "Indeed. Therefore," their voice gained a thoughtful edge, and Mukuro didn't miss how Skull sat up a little straighter at the sound. "I am willing to teleport you back to Japan, and keep your location private, if you give me some of your Flames."

"…Seems reasonable," Skull agreed, looking more curious than afraid. "What do you need them for?"

"If I can't have you as the Cloud in my employer's group, then I will simply make my own Cloud Guardian," Viper told him archly. "And thus I need some of your Flames."

Skull chuckled a little and nodded. "That seems fair." Viper nodded back and summoned a jar into her hands that Skull careful fed his purple Flames into, careful not to have them replicate the glass inside. Once the jar was glowing brightly with the Flames burning inside it, Viper pulled it away and safely sealed it shut.

"Very well, I will teleport you back to Japan."

Mukuro stepped forward then, before this Viper could send Skull away. "We wish to go with you, little Arcobaleno."

The two forms looked at him, Skull seeming surprised while the cloaked child seemed annoyed. "And why would former Estraneo wish to go with Skull?" They seemed suspicious, but Mukuro matched them with a disdainful look of his own before specifically turning toward the purple-haired child.

"You are the reason that my subordinates and I are free from our tormentors. Is it really so strange that I would wish to follow you? It would make me feel safer," he added mock-coyly, to the amusement of both of them as the cloaked one snorted softly and Skull outright laughed in amusement to the dryness in his voice. If the statement rang a little less false than Mukuro had intended, neither child pointed it out.

"I don't have a problem with it," Skull finally shrugged. "At the very least you can help keep the city safe. Assassins are after one of the families there." Mukuro felt his curiosity increase at that, and didn't have to look to see the interest on Chikusa and Ken's faces as well.

Viper seemed interested in that as well. "I will teleport them with you if you will tell me why assassins are after a family there," they offered, and Skull frowned for a moment.

"Only if you swear not to bring it up with the other Varia."

Viper snorted. "I'm not asking as a member of the Varia, I'm asking as an information broker. As such, I have no reason to tell them anything if they don't pay for it first." The frog on Skull's head jumped onto Viper, Oodako being passed over to the Cloud user as well.

Skull grinned at the other child in thanks and the two walked back onto the ground, the purple-haired child continuing until he stood with the former Estraneo children. "The child of the family is the Young Lion of the Vongola's kid," he revealed. "And a leak hired an assassin to take him and his mother out."

With the hood covering their face Mukuro could not read Viper's expression, but they seemed surprised. "I…see," they finally got out. "You were smart to make sure I was asking as an information broker and not as a member of the Varia. I will prepare to send you four to Japan." Indigo Flames curled around Viper's outstretched hands, extending from them to spiral around the other four. "Before you leave," they said after a moment, as they were slowly fading away. "I must know…Lal was meant to die on that day, wasn't she?"

Skull didn't ask what day they were talking about, and simply nodded. "Any interference should have killed the one not chosen by the Curse." Skull blinked solemnly for a moment, before grinning slightly. "Any more information's gonna cost you."

A laugh escaped from the faceless hood and Viper nodded. "Very well. Stay safe, Skull." And the four disappeared from sight.

* * *

Tsuna hadn't been this panicked since the time he was five and got lost at the grocery store, and even that paled to the confusion and fear that permeated this situation. Skull _disappeared_, in a shroud of dark blue Flames and a rush of instructions for them. That kind of implied that he planned to return, but it was obvious that he hadn't planned to leave in the first place. And Tsuna could only cling onto the hope that Skull kept his promise to keep him safe, because Skull hadn't broken a single promise yet and Tsuna was only just getting used to such a concept.

Hibari looked ready to snap, pacing around his house after the "required" number of hours that Skull asked them to meditate every day. After they'd spent an hour wondering where Skull had been taken to, it became apparent that he wouldn't through sheer force of will on their part, and they'd reluctantly done as he'd requested and meditated longer, Tsuna nowhere near making contact with his Flames as his anxiety got the better of him. Skull was _gone_. Was it their fault somehow? Did someone not like Skull protecting someone he'd been hired to kill and taken it out on him? The thoughts running around in Tsuna's head made it impossible for him focus at all.

Once the "minimum" hours of meditating had been achieved the two sprang to their feet and moved into the Hibari house, the child of the house pacing restlessly as Tsuna sat on the edge of the couch, the two taking turns to shoot looks at the porch and the ticking clock in the living room. _Hours_ passed. _Hours_ of worry and dread and paranoia that Tsuna had never felt before as Hibari grew steadily angrier with each hour without Skull's return. Evening was approaching when they heard a very slight pop and "oof!" in the backyard, and Tsuna bolted to the back with Hibari a few steps behind him.

Skull was sitting on the grass, rubbing his house and groaning, "Darn it Viper it _still_ isn't funny!" with three other kids scattered and groaning around him. Oodako sat on his lap, making agreeing sounds to Skull's complaints.

But Tsuna barely noticed them, his eyes locked onto his little protector and friend. "Skull!" he cried out, lurching forward to wrap the child into a tight hug. "You're back!"

Skull laughed a little. "Of course I am, Tsuna, why wouldn't I come back? I just got caught up in some stuff."

Hibari stalked over then. "Infant…" he hissed, a dark look in his features. Skull glanced at him and gulped, suddenly appearing nervous. "Where have you been? Who took you? Can they do that to anyone? Are they a threat?"

Skull waved his hands a little. "Easy Hibari," he said back, stern enough that Hibari stopped belting out questions and backed off a little, still glowering at him. "I was in Italy, a friend of mine took me using a very difficult technique. Yes they can do that to anyone but they charge a lot of money for it so I doubt they do it a lot. And…they are currently not a threat, and will tell me if that changes in the near future."

Hibari grunted in acknowledgement to Skull's words, before turning to the other children. "Why are you herbivores here? Are you a threat to my town?"

Tsuna was somewhat surprised by Hibari's brief stint of talkativeness, but Skull had taken to ignoring Hibari's glares if the nine year old didn't outright say what he wanted to know, and so the noirette tended to demand a lot of things in one breath instead of silently glaring his demands into people's heads. It was terrifying the other townspeople last Tsuna saw.

As the brunette looked a little closer, he saw Hibari shifting slightly, his tonfas coming into view as he tried to put himself between Skull and the others. Tsuna's eyes widened a little as understanding dawned on him; Hibari wasn't sure if they were a threat and their tutor – an unofficial citizen of Namimori – who helped them get stronger was sitting uncomfortably close to them. So he was trying to divert their attention to him.

Hibari was trying to protect Skull in his own way.

The boy that was sitting nearest to Skull smiled, his mismatched eyes off-putting and Tsuna had to blink a little to get over the number he saw flickering in the boy's right eye (and why was it Japanese? Skull just said that they came from Italy). "We're here because we wanted to follow our little savior back to Japan. I heard there was a possible assassin problem here and wanted to…lend you a hand in keeping them out."

Hibari's eyes narrowed suspiciously, before a reluctant interest passed over his face. "We'll see," he settled on, and Tsuna's Intuition screamed to _get out now_, while Skull giggled a little and stood up, Oodako now perched onto his head.

The blonde growled a little but didn't say anything, getting to his feet with the capped boy beside him. Skull grinned back at him and trotted over to Tsuna, letting the brunette pick him up and put him on his shoulder. "Tsuna-nii, introduce yourself."

"Oh! Right," Tsuna smiled at the other children, ignoring Hibari and the other boy's silent stare off. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. And you three are?"

The blonde scoffed but reluctantly said, "Joshima Ken" while the capped boy adjusted his glasses and introduced himself as Kakimoto Chikusa.

"Kufufu, I go by the name Rokudo Mukuro, Tsunayoshi-kun," a voice breathed _into Tsuna's ear_, causing him to jump a foot into the air.

"Hiiieeeee!" He screeched, instinctively looking for Skull after startling so badly only to find him clinging to the brunette's hair like a surprised cat. He then turned back to Mukuro. "Please don't do that Rokudo-san," he scolded, putting a hand to his chest in an effort to calm his racing heart. "I scare easily."

Mukuro's eyes glittered. "Don't worry, Tsunayoshi-kun," he purred. "I'll fix you of that issue quickly. And please, call me Mukuro. We will be housemates for the foreseeable future after all."

Tsuna's eyes doubled in size, likely followed by Ken and maybe Chikusa if the yelp he heard was anything to go by. "Ehh?!"

* * *

"…_What do you think you're doing, Skull?"_

"_She deserves to live, Kawahira. You can't deny that."_

"_The Ceremony has rejected her."_

"_That wasn't her fault! She didn't know that he would interfere!"_

"_Yes, and isn't that perfect irony? The white knight sweeps in to take his love's place in a ceremony that could lead to her death, only for the act of saving her to kill her instead?"_

"_No. The best irony…would be for the one most hated by the entire group to save her, and have it never be known. The knight's love saved by the jester, only for them to continue abusing him."_

"…_That is true. Very well, I'll humor this once. She will live, but _you_ must pay the price for it."_

* * *

More flashbacks. More I say!

As a warning, I had trouble writing chapter 7, so...update times may soon grow erratic. I hate to say it, but it must be said. My apologies.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	7. Express Yourself

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Express Yourself

* * *

Tsuna blinked his eyes open sleepily, looking down for a moment. He smiled slightly as he acknowledged Skull lying beside him, curled up to his chest and breathing softly, clearly deep in the throes of sleep and he mumbled a little and burrowed closer to Tsuna for warmth. As Tsuna started to fall back to sleep, his Intuition chimed, telling him that something was different in the room from last night.

His brows furrowing in puzzlement, the brunette looked up only to lock eyes onto red and blue. His mind froze, confused. They definitely were _not_ in bed with Tsuna and Skull last night. A smirk crossed the other boy's face. "Kufufu, good morning, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"HIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" The screech that left Tsuna's mouth was louder than the any other he'd made yet and it showed. There were thumps on either side of the bed, followed by muffled but childish cursing from the other side of Mukuro. But Tsuna had already whipped around to stare at who'd apparently been sleeping behind him.

Chikusa stared back in annoyance. "Must you be so loud?" He asked even as he slipped _back into the bed_, making Tsuna scoot a little closer to the middle of the bed to give him some room.

"Yeah, come on Tsuna! We were sleeping before you'd screamed," an annoyed voice said behind Mukuro, and Tsuna sat up a little to see Ken glaring sleepily at him before shamelessly curling beside the older bluenette.

Tsuna was about to shriek again, but more along the lines of, "why were you sleeping in my bed?!" before a voice rose up in response to all of the others. "Go back to sleep, Tsuna-nii. It's too early." Skull yawned as if to prove his point before rolling over and curling into Mukuro's chest. Tsuna was still too tired to notice many things, but he didn't miss the way Mukuro's eyes widened slightly, shooting the snoring five year old a startled, confused look before hiding it away once more.

_It's too early for this_, Tsuna finally agreed with the Arcobaleno, feeling Chikusa shift closer as he did the same, and the warmth began seeping into the brunette's bones, making him drowsy once more. "Wake me up in a few hours, Mukuro-san." He was asleep before he got a confirmation from the other boy, but he was indeed a few hours later, and promptly thanked Mukuro for doing so.

The boy gave him a bemused smile and brushed off his thanks, but his Intuition told him that Mukuro was pleased, as was Skull from his perch on Tsuna's head.

Nana had been quite happy to take the other three boys in while they figured out their living conditions, giving them all the guest room that was kept ready for any unexpected visitors (and Tsuna wished that that included his father, but it sadly did not). The children…weren't as enthusiastic, keeping Tsuna and Skull between them and the woman at all times. From what Tsuna understood of their situation, that made a great deal of sense, and he had been helping them try and find a house they were comfortable with since then.

Dinner was a quieter affair, with Tsuna and Skull providing a good deal of it and trying to distract Nana if she directed a question to the other three boys, who had refused to speak to her and even refused to eat until Skull had taken a piece of food off of Mukuro's plate and pulled them into a game of trying to take one another's food without ruining any of it in the process. That distracted them enough for Nana to simply enjoy watching them have fun and Tsuna to let out a mental sigh of relief.

After that the other boys sat with Tsuna in their new room, Ken sniffing around suspiciously and Chikusa more polite but just as suspicious by his side. Mukuro just gave the room a cursory glance before dark blue Flame spilled out of his finger tips and edged around the room. With the protection set up the children talked in an effort to get to know one another, the three former Estraneo all suspicious but open to the idea.

Mukuro had tried to badger Skull into telling him more about his ancestor, but the Arcobaleno just gave him a flat look. "I'll tell you tomorrow when we meet up with Hibari," he said instead. "His and your ancestor had quite the history as allies and rivals." That placated Mukuro for the time being, and he instead joined the others in getting to know Tsuna – but was _much_ more touchy-feely about it.

Skull and Tsuna left a few hours later, Tsuna having a blush on his face after the older boys had taken turns petting his hair, and Skull yawning tiredly from his draining discussion of Estraneo and their experiments on him that Mukuro finally got out of him. "They'll need help," Skull noted quietly, and Tsuna nodded. "We can help them," the child continued, and Tsuna nodded again.

"We will," he promised, and Skull hummed in quiet relief.

And then they awoke to this craziness.

"Bye, Kaa-san!" Skull and Tsuna cried out in unison, waving at Nana as they left the house, Mukuro, Ken and Chikusa a step ahead of them in their eagerness to get out of the house.

"You're mom creeps me out, Tsuna," Ken was quick to admit, rubbing at the scar over his nose sheepishly. "She just has this vacant gaze to her, like she doesn't want to know what's going on outside of her personal sphere. Like a…sheep, I guess. Just waiting for the shepherd to move her from place to place."

Tsuna bristled a little at the others words but let out a sad sigh. "Yeah; I don't think she'll ever truly live until my dad comes home and _stays_ home. It's all she seems to live for anymore."

"Then you'll have a long wait," Chikusa told him bluntly, with some remorse for his newfound friend. "Your father is a member of the Vongola, correct? They'll kill him if he backs out, and he'll probably not want to leave of his own free will if he's in a high enough position. Such is the double-edged sword of the mafia."

Tsuna nodded his understanding, but Skull looked mulish and Tsuna himself had the slow fire of resentment burning in his stomach. "That's not true," the purple-haired child denied. "I've been alive for quite some time, and I know how to jump the mafia ship with ease at this point." Skull frowned a little. "He just isn't trying to get out. And he's in a high enough position, _and _he's been there a while now; he could step down without any problem."

The former Estraneo kids were quiet after that, thinking about Tsuna and Skull's words. They eventually ended up at Hibari's house, who eyed them all but it was with a far less hostile emotion than when Skull and Tsuna first spoke to him. It may have only been a few weeks, but they had all changed a little from then, Hibari not the least. His earlier curiosity of Mukuro was still there, Tsuna noted as they stepped out into the backyard.

And Mukuro was easily returning it, obviously tempted to test his illusions against the skylark until Skull jumped down from Tsuna's shoulder and nudged his ankle. "Don't even think about it," the Arcobaleno told him, and when Mukuro shot him a sullen look, he relented a little. "You might be allowed to play with your illusions soon. I just need to figure something out."

Mukuro and Hibari both nodded in (reluctant) acceptance and stood in a line with the others as Skull was in front of them. "I think I've been teaching Tsuna wrong," he admitted, thinking aloud. "Your access of the Dying Will Flames makes this difficult to pinpoint, so I'll just ask. Did your Flames of Wrath feel stronger, or your Intuition?"

"Intuition," Tsuna answered easily. "I didn't really feel connected to my Flames of Wrath like I do my Intuition."

Skull took in this information and smacked his forehead quietly. "Stupid, stupid Skull," he muttered, just loud enough for them to hear him. "It doesn't matter how long it's been since you've seen it; you should've recognize the signs."

"Skull?" Tsuna asked, concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"Just peachy," Skull groused. "I've just been going about training you the completely wrong way. You're an Internal Sky, Tsuna-nii."

Tsuna blinked in confusion. "Okay…what does that mean?"

Skull sighed a little and sat down, gesturing at the others to do the same. "Alright, so as you know Flames can be divided into seven separate groups; Sky, Storm, Cloud, Mist, Rain, Lightning, and Sun." He paused and didn't continue until the children all nodded at him. "Well there's actually a further difference between each individual branch, called Flame Expression.

"Each branch of the Seven Flames of the Sky has the potential to be naturally Internal or naturally External. You can figure out which one you are based on how your Flame naturally interacts with the world around you. For instance," Skull gestured at Tsuna for a moment. "As Tsuna-nii said, his Intuition is easy for him access compared to our attempts to access his Flames for combat purposes. Hibari, on the other hand is an External Cloud as he is having an easy time accessing his Flames through meditation.

"You have an easier time improving the bond with your Flames through meditation if they're naturally External, and exercise if they're naturally Internal. This is because you're doing the opposite of what your Flames are naturally born to do, so it helps stretch your Flames' abilities and your own. You can improve your Flame by doing a lot of what it's inclined to do, but it won't be as effective. I am an Internal Cloud, actually, but those are so rare that I've always played it by ear on how to train myself. And I've told you what I'm fairly certain Tsuna and Hibari's Flame Expressions are. What about you three?" He finally directed a question at Mukuro, Ken and Chikusa, who started a little at the abrupt question.

"Kufufu," Mukuro chuckled a little. "I believe that I'm an Internal, based on your criteria. I have an easier time possessing people with my Mist Flames, but couldn't create illusions as easily before I was put through the Six Paths of Hell."

"I'm probably an External," Ken grunted, scratching at his scar. "I've seen yellow Flames when I look in my mind to see the Animal Channels I've gone through, and then they appear on my hands."

"So they appear after you do something meditative." Skull nodded in understanding, before turning to the last one. "And you?"

Chikusa pushed his glasses up contemplatively. "…Internal," he finally told them, but offered no reasoning as to why.

Skull shrugged and nodded. "If it isn't we'll find out soon enough. Now that I know what the hell I'm doing now, we'll be training you all on the same thing at the same time. So Internal training in the morning, and External training in the afternoon. Any questions?"

Hibari spoke up then, curious despite himself. "What is Internal training?"

Skull's grin was just shy of unnerving, and had Tsuna and Chikusa leaning away without noticing. "Exercise. Lots, and _lots_, of exercise. We'll begin with a classic game: Hide and Go Seek. Only we're going to add our Flames to it. The seeker can use their Flames however they wish, so long as it doesn't kill the hiders, to hunt the hiders down. The hiders are allowed to use their Flames to impede _other_ hiders or help themselves. No one is allowed to leave the designated area, which will now be…the Namimori forest. Let's get started."

The purple-haired child got on Mukuro's shoulder and they all tromped off to the forest. As they went there Tsuna saw Sasagawa Ryohei running about, shouting "EXTREME" as he usually does, and smiled in amusement as Skull made confused noises. They also saw Yamamoto Takeshi, Skull rubbing his eyes in disbelief and staring at him in incomprehension. "I don't understand," he finally muttered, to the group's confusion.

When they finally got there, Skull jumped off Mukuro's shoulder, tagging Hibari's leg as he ran into the forest. "Hibari-san's it! On your mark, get set, go!"

The group stared at one another, before the situation kicked in and they ran off, Tsuna laughing as he did so. He tripped from time to time, but he could hear Hibari on Ken's tail by the cursing emanating from his left. Tsuna giggled a little as he hid himself in the trees, watching Mukuro subtly trick Chikusa into going closer to Hibari's range.

What a way to start the day, Tsuna thought, even as laughter overtook him.

* * *

The children all lay on the grass in the Namimori forest, gasping for breath. Mukuro was the first one to be able to speak, and smugly did so. "It appears that I won, Kyouya-kun."

"Lies," the skylark hissed back. "You only won the last round; I won the previous two. And who gave you permission to use my first name?"

"I won the first one!" Ken jumped in, too tired to snarl and simply bared his teeth at both of the bickering boys. "Don't lie!"

"Hmm," Mukuro gave Ken that and gazed blankly up at the treetops. "So we tied."

"…Indeed." Kyouya agreed, scowling a little in irritation. "We will break the tie next time."

"You have yourself a deal, Kyouya-kun." Mukuro didn't even twitch as he was hit with a branch that Hibari found nearby in retaliation for using his first name, and instead turned his head to look around tiredly. "Chikusa? Tsunayoshi-kun? You're both quiet. And where's Skull-chan?"

"We're here," Tsuna called out, with Chikusa making a confirming sound as well. Tsuna was ready to sleep where he was lying. Was this what Flame Exhaustion felt like? "And I haven't seen Skull."

"I'm over here." A voice emerged from the trees, and Tsuna made a sound as he felt the press of a cold water bottle against his forehead. He heard the others copy him when he assumed that Skull did the same to them, and sat up to take a sip from the water. Skull walked back over and sat beside Tsuna, correctly assuming that the brunet was too overheated for him to sit in his lap without complaint. "So? What did you guys think of this exercise?"

"It was fun," Tsuna admitted, perking up a little as he remembered something. "Oh! And my Flames came out a few times! They helped me jump farther and run faster."

"My connection to my Flames feels a little stronger," Mukuro confirmed, Chikusa making another agreeing sound as he was still too tired to speak.

"I do not feel a stronger connection to my Flame, but using my Flames to achieve a specific goal was beneficial," Hibari reported, crushing the bottle he'd already emptied.

Ken was blunter on his opinion of the matter. "It was fun!" The feral boy grinned. "I can't wait to do it again!"

Skull grinned back. "Good. The next Internal training will be in…two days; tomorrow we're getting you guys into school and figuring out your study schedules, and then we'll do some training. Any questions?"

Mukuro, who had laid back down and relaxed on the grass, propped himself up on his elbows and looked at the Arcobaleno. "You said you would tell me a story about my ancestor. Can I hear it already, Skull-chan?"

"Right, right. Stories…" Skull trailed off thoughtfully before perking back up. "I know! Okay, so Tsuna-nii, Hibari-san, and Mukuro-kun's great great great grandfathers all knew each other, in fact they were all a part of a vigilante group that Tsuna's ancestor started. But Hibari-san and Mukuro-kun's ancestors, Alaude and Daemon Spade, did _not_ get along, at all. And so they tended to try and…prank isn't the right word; Daemon tried to trick Alaude, and Alaude did his best not to react to annoy Daemon. Well one day, Daemon finally managed to get a reaction out of Alaude; he actually managed to get him to laugh."

"What did he do?" Ken asked, curious as the three whose ancestors were mentioned hung onto his every word.

Skull paused, before a very amused smile slipped onto his face. "He used his Mist Flames to make Giotto – Tsuna's ancestor – think that he was a girl for the entirety of the day. So Giotto had a very serious meeting with Alaude in his office…whilst wearing a fairly poofy dress and makeup on his face. Alaude took one look and had a coughing fit before giving up and full on laughing, which startled Giotto out of the Mist Flame illusion. Then he saw the outfit he was wearing and _shrieked_ to high heaven. It _echoed_."

There was a startled silence that fell over the group, before they turned as one to Tsuna, trying to picture him in a dress. Chikusa's lips began to twitch. Mukuro looked _far_ too considering. Ken was clearly trying to hold his laughter in, clutching at his stomach.

Then Hibari coughed.

And all were lost in the throes of hilarity, Tsuna included.

* * *

Bonding! And world development! I honestly think the Internal/External thing could be canon; we typically see two different versions of each Flame, with people being one version or another.

I am really struggling with chapter 8; this is a warning as that means I don't know when it will be posted.

As a note, they can learn the other half; Reborn _is_ capable of healing, it just wouldn't come as naturally to him as it would an Internal Sun. External Mists have a better chance of learning to teleport, but Mukuro can still learn it. And it is better to train both aspects of Flame Expression, which is also why Skull has them all doing both exercises.

And for reference:

Internal Cloud: Cell replication healing factor; changing size of objects. Example: Skull

External Cloud: Greater natural fighting ability; replication. Example: Hibari

Internal Mist: Stronger grasp on their sense of reality; easier time possessing others. Example: Mukuro

External Mist: Better illusions; more capable of inserting their perception of reality. Example: Viper

Internal Rain: Greater mental stability if they don't have a Sky; better emotional and mental control/stability. Example: Chikusa

Internal Sky: Stronger Intuition; stronger Harmonizing perhaps. Example: Tsuna

External Sun: Better at augmenting natural physical aspects (ie speed, strength, endurance). Example: Ken, Reborn

More will be revealed and explained as we go.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	8. Setting up Boundaries

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Setting up Boundaries

* * *

They spent the next few months following the same schedule. They studied one day, meditated the first half of the second day and played "hide and go seek with Flames" during the second half of the day. Hibari got the newest additions to the Sawada family – who never got around to leaving, though they were at this point eyeing a few small houses in the area – enrolled into Namimori Elementary, Mukuro joining Hibari with Ken and Chikusa a year behind them and a year ahead of Tsuna.

Though it was August, and thus the middle of the year for Japanese students, the three managed to get into the school without any difficulty (though Tsuna suspected that that was due to a mixture of Hibari's threats and Mukuro's illusions) and gave Skull the dubious honor of being their guardian and emergency contact, which he accepted more gravely than Tsuna anticipated that he would.

These new months also brought about a time where Tsuna wasn't being bullied every minute of every day. While the others weren't in his classes, they did have lunch with the brunet (even Hibari made an effort to show up, though he did stay at the fringes of the group and only came closer if Tsuna had a snack he wanted and was willing to give Hibari) and made it very clear that any sign of bruising on Tsuna would lead to the offender being much worse off by the end of the day.

Skull was generally supportive of them all protecting one another, and so with their guardian's consent the three were near unbearable to the second grade staff, but the adults couldn't do anything about it as they never saw the older boys hurting the younger ones. When they figured out that the kids were being attacked for harming Tsuna, they tried to punish Tsuna for it only to have Hibari arrive at the principal's office and stare them down. They were replaced the next day.

What the school would likely never know was that Tsuna was the reason that things hadn't escalated even _more_, keeping Mukuro and his group calm and assuring them that he was fine and doing the same for Hibari if he saw one of Tsuna's bruises and scowled even harder than he normally did.

Skull did not try to stop them at all; he just waved his hands and called it a team bonding experience, a light glimmering in his eyes that told Tsuna that he wouldn't change his mind on the matter without real reasons and evidence to back it up. The only time he stepped in was when a kid tried to push Tsuna down the stairs, only to come to school the next day with one eye swollen completely shut and an abject fear of brown hair that caused him to fall to the floor sobbing.

The Arcobaleno addressed that immediately when Tsuna told him about it when they all met up again, and he looked uncharacteristically angry. "Failed attempts for a bully to be petty do not warrant extreme psychological trauma," he growled at the four, his helmet in his hands for the first time in weeks and appearing honestly bothered by the matter. "In your desire to protect Tsuna-nii, do _not_ go down the same path his tormentors have. I do not teach to have you use those abilities to just _hurt_ people!"

Skull's voice broke at little at the end as his hand crept up, brushing against the bandage on his left cheek, his other arm tightening on his helmet. Tsuna frowned; with the unlocking and training of his Flames Tsuna's Intuition was improving bit by bit, and the training exercises helped him learn when to recognize incoming danger or anything else his Intuition warned him about. And right now his Intuition was saying that there was something more to Skull's disapproval than just the others acting up. And whatever that something was, it was personal.

The child's sternness got across to the others, Hibari grunting in annoyance and still looking rather rebellious. "They are children that throw rocks at birds to watch them fall out of the sky," he countered, growing angry by his own words.

Skull turned to him specifically at his words. "And that makes it right to _peck out their eyes_? Stupid and cruel and wrong as they are, they are still children. Scratch them, scare them a little, but do not _ruin_ them for their immaturity." Skull stopped himself and took a deep breath to steady himself. His hands were shaking a little, Tsuna noticed, though not in fear. What was it then? "You guys have to control yourselves," he told them firmly. "I am teaching you to use weapons that can kill someone with a twitch of your fingers. You'll need to know how to retaliate to other people's slights without being labelled a threat and hunted down for it."

"But he was trying to kill Tsuna!" Ken argued, his face pinched in incredulity. "He tried to push Tsuna down the stairs, Skull-san!"

Skull stared at them, his face paled before he let out a sound and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was not aware of that," he muttered, shooting Tsuna a look that had him looking down at the ground in mild shame for not giving the whole story. "Nonetheless, children your age are not aware of the…fragility of life," he told them.

"You are all unique in that your circumstances make you perfectly aware of how easy it is to die, and how easy it is to kill someone. Children your age aren't entirely aware of such things yet. They only have their friends, parents, and anime to relate life lessons to, and anime makes a joke out of ways people can be hurt or killed. If you were older, your actions would have been justified as the boy would know that what he was doing would kill Tsuna, but he didn't know that."

Skull stopped himself again, clearly struggling with himself. "This is hard to explain," he finally admitted. "You have to experience actions and reactions, and see proper retribution to others. And clearly," he paused to give Tsuna another look, "Tsuna doesn't know the proper reaction to things either, but he under-reacts versus how you four overreact to things." Skull sighed. "This will be a difficult and long process."

Skull then waved them off, and walked off. Tsuna watched him worriedly, but his Intuition told him that Skull just wanted some time alone.

* * *

That night, Skull sat on the roof of Tsuna's house, careful to do so after all of the kids in the house had congregated to Tsuna's bed as they did every night (he honestly found it adorable, but didn't want to hurt their egos by saying so). He played with his phone a little, smiling as his hand brushed over the skull phone charm that Viper had put on it before handing it over.

In a rare moment of contemplation, Skull took off the bandage over his left cheek, brushing his fingers over the scar there. "Stupid senpai," he groused lowly even as his hand jerked away from the raised skin of his scar. "What would you have done?" He asked, before snorting. Here he was, acting like they actually _were_ his senpai, when he could have been their _grandfather_ at this point.

"I know what you would've done," he muttered bitterly. "You would've berated Tsuna for not doing it himself, but would've praised them for protecting their 'Boss'." A bitter look crossed his face. "Senpai doesn't even realize that, for all that he wants the mafia to change, he promotes the same school of thought that has poisoned the mafia for years now."

Oodako made a sad sound from his spot in Skull's lap, and he reached down to pet his familiar. He spoke directly to the octopus then, regret in his eyes. "He wouldn't teach them tolerance, he would let the civilians suffer for the good of the Family, but that was the school of thought that Giotto created the Vongola to fight _against_." The Arcobaleno sighed. "I'm beginning to think that the Vongola – and thus the mafia in general – is past the point of redemption."

Skull spend a few more minutes staring at the flickering street lights before picking himself and Oodako up to return back into the house, the bandage once more firmly applied over the scar that Reborn had given him decades ago.

* * *

Things were tense between the kids and Skull for a little while, but the real children were sincerely trying to improve their reactions to people, and Skull seemed to sense that and eventually things went back to normal in their interactions.

It certainly helped that Ken, Mukuro and Chikusa seemed to take the awkward tension between them and their savior with their usual acceptance of things they didn't like – that was to say, not well at all – and their tenacity to get Skull to act normal again did more to break the tension than Tsuna or Hibari could have, and Tsuna was both grateful for their intervention and a little envious of their stubbornness in not letting Skull get caught up in their own drama.

And so things went back to normal between Skull and the kids, with Chikusa, Ken and Mukuro sleeping in Tsuna's bed with them – Tsuna wondered if they were planning on bringing him and Skull with them when they found a house, with the way they refused to leave the bed – and Mukuro doing all he could to get a scream out of Tsuna at least once a day.

"HIIEE!" The screech was shorter than normal as the surprise died more quickly from past experience, Tsuna staring wide eyed at the cobra that was perched on his chest.

Even as the familiar creepy laugh went off next to him and Skull tried to get down from the headboard he'd jumped to out of instinct, Ken head-butted the Tsuna in the shoulder from his spot next to the brunet. "Shut up, Tsuna," he grumbled tiredly, the commonness of this scenario evident as he went back to sleep after offering his usual complaints. Skull made a tired whine in agreement to the idea of quiet before crawling back into the bed and throwing the cobra across the room, taking its place on Tsuna's chest.

"Sorry," Tsuna apologized quietly, feeling the heat of shame start to creep up his face before Skull lightly nudged his ribs with his foot, purple eyes blearily locked on the child.

"Don't be, it's a natural reaction to waking up to a _snake on your chest_." Skull stressed the last part and Mukuro shifted a little in his sleep, muttering about using dogs instead. The Arbobaleno rolled his eyes a little. "And dogs, constantly that's your phobia."

"It breeds character," the illusionist muttered (and Tsuna was beginning to wonder if he was really asleep) and Skull snorted a little.

"It breeds _paranoia_," he corrected, and Mukuro rolled over in the bed to display his back to them.

They went back to sleep soon after, to awake in two hours. When they did, the kids were ready to relax or play ("Sundays were made for fun!" was Ken's argument) before Skull had to cut their excitement short. "Sorry guys, but it's an even number day," he reminded them, looking only slightly apologetic. With the remembrance of the day the excitement surrounding them all (even Hibari, and Tsuna would never have believed that to be possible before) abruptly evaporated.

"I don't wanna study!" Ken whined, looking at Skull with an attempt at puppy dog eyes to persuade him to let them play Flame Hide and Go Seek.

"You played – I mean trained – yesterday," Skull reminded them, shooting them down and making Hibari scowl a little.

"My grades are acceptable," he defended, and Skull shot him a look.

"Oh? Have a full conversation with me. In English." Hibari's scowl immediately darkened and he turned away with a huff. "That's what I thought."

And so the group settled down to study for their classes, Tsuna learning some of the higher stuff as they went over Chikusa, Ken, Mukuro and Hibari's class material. Mukuro let out a bored sigh as he floated his textbooks into a pile beside him. "Things are getting predictable, Skull-chan. When will the next assassin after Tsunayoshi-kun appear? Kyouya-kun and I can always use the stress relief."

Hibari promptly hit him with the bag he had beside him, glaring at the illusionist. "Do not act as if we are friends," he hissed for the nth time. "I do not like crowding." He then paused and shot Skull a look. "The only reason I tolerate this crowd of herbivores, Infant, is because you told me there were assassins after the smallest herbivore. I have seen no such assassin in a month."

"Then you'll likely see one in a week or so," Skull replied without missing a beat, cracking open Ken's math book and skimming the blond's notes. He absently patted Tsuna's knee when he gave a distressed squeak. "They give assassins a time window to try and kill someone, usually a few weeks so, if we're unlucky enough, or lucky if you see it that way, we should be seeing another assassin soon-ish."

"Good," Mukuro grinned, his red eye glowing briefly. "I always enjoy playtime with child-killing scum."

"They will be bitten to death," Hibari agreed with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes.

"Fantastic," Skull said a bit dryly. "Now tell me the formula to find the area of a triangle."

* * *

*Omake*

"So someone took you to Italy to give you a _phone_?"

They were sitting in a café in town, where Ken had finally pestered Skull into telling them why he'd been in Italy in the first place. The blond was suitably unimpressed with the answer, as were Chikusa and Mukuro if their flat looks were any indication.

Skull shrugged. "Yep. That's just the way Reborn-senpai is." He looked down and took a sip of his drink, missing the way Tsuna stiffened a little at the honorific he used.

"So how does he know that you got the phone?" Ken asked, looking confused and skeptical of Skull's story.

The Cloud Arcobaleno gave a devious grin. "Oh, trust me, he knows."

Oceans away, in Italy, a stream of swears escaped a five year old as he glared darkly at his phone, which cheerfully informed him of the successful purchase of the app "Angry Birds" which had been charged to his bank account. The case creaked ominously as his grip tightened. "Damn you, Stupid Lackey," Reborn seethed. "Don't use my accounts to buy your stupid games."

*End Omake*

* * *

Woo! Character development! As some of you might know as you check on my tumblr from time to time, the first half of this was not fun to write, as Skull wasn't sure what he was doing entirely, _I_ wasn't sure what I was doing entirely, it was uncertainty all across the board over here. Anyway, I love Omakes. I think I live for writing Omakes into fanfics.

Please Review.

Ja ne!


	9. Fruits of their Labor

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Fruits of their Labor

* * *

It was midnight on a cold night in early October when Skull's prediction came to pass. A new idiot had arrived that evening, catching the attention of the patrolling Hibari. When he tried to attack the household, the sound of the breaking window woke up Mukuro first who sent the man flying out with the illusion that had been sleeping at Tsuna's feet (a wolf. Of course it was a wolf, it wasn't a _dog_ after all. Skull was reluctantly impressed at that boy's skill in finding loopholes). Skull, who had also woken up from the window breaking, watched as Ken and Chikusa jumped after Mukuro out the broken window before he went about repairing it whilst Tsuna worriedly trailed behind him.

With the man away from the civilian houses and his blood in the air, it didn't take long for Hibari to jump from their roof to join in the fray. Pretty soon, screams started up as tonfa and the man's very own nightmares attacked him from every angle. Occasionally Ken would rush in with a punch or slash of his claws and Chikusa would have a spray of needles go through one of Mukuro's illusions to puncture the would-be assassin.

And through all of it Tsuna sat on his window sill with Skull on his head, both watching the others. "This won't teach them how to be kind," Tsuna felt the need to remind his "younger brother", who snorted at his statement.

"They shouldn't be learning how to be kind or practicing it on people trying to kill those they value," he countered, adding a tiny tic to the whiteboard he was holding as the man threw up from whatever the illusion showed him. "Mukuro's killing it this time," he muttered, before stiffening at Tsuna's head jerk. "Sorry, poor word choice," he said apologetically, looking down only to see Tsuna looking back up in reassurance.

"It's alright," he told him, using this as a reason to not see the others attacking another person so viciously. "I just don't like seeing them like this."

Skull hummed in agreement. From his position on Tsuna's head, he could see their dark glee, their need to get back at those that had harmed them in Ken, Chikusa, and Mukuro's every move against the assassin. Hibari's moves also shared how he reveled in the fight, or more specifically the competition he was holding against Mukuro. But where Hibari _may_ have been born to fight and kill, the other three had had that life forced upon them, and they fell back on these lessons even as they fought against those associated with their tormentors. "Years ago," he confessed to Tsuna, "years and _years_ ago where I can't even remember how long it's been, I made a plan where I would buy a house on a little island away from the city and the mafia and just spend the rest of my life eating fruit and the fish I caught that day and just sitting by the shore watching the sun set. It was…a peaceful dream."

"That sounds wonderful," Tsuna told him, smiling up at the purple haired child who gazed sightlessly ahead of him. "Whatever happened to that plan?"

Skull blinked, and the light seemed to fade from his eyes. "I found out that I couldn't fully leave the mafia for the rest of my natural life, not until a certain thing took place that was considered impossible." Skull's smile turned brittle, and he curled up a little into himself. "After that, the plan just never seemed achievable, and I stopped thinking about it so I wouldn't feel like everything was taken away from me."

Tsuna stared at Skull for a long moment, clearly think about something and not appearing to hear the screams fade out with the man's probably death, and Skull fought to not fidget or recline back in Tsuna's hair to hide himself from view. Viper was the only person alive to know his dream, the very same dream he'd long given up on decades ago after he'd survived nearly dying three times and lived fifteen years outside of the curse without physically aging at all, and telling someone else about it was…difficult. He knew Tsuna wouldn't be cruel about his dream, but it was a sore point for him in general.

"We'll help your plan succeed, Skull," Tsuna said softly, and the Arcobaleno looked to see the brunet's eyes not glowing like when his Dying Will acted up, but just as steeled and determined as he was whenever he channeled his Dying Will into his actions. The steel disappeared after he said that, and something gentle appeared as he turned to look back at the others, Skull naturally following his line of sight to them still pumped from the fight and clearly bragging to one another. The purple-haired toddler winced when he realized he'd lost track of the score but read Mukuro and Hibari's body language and guessed that Mukuro won this round.

Tsuna's voice brought his attention back to the matter at hand. "And I think they'd love to live on that little island with you; I know I would." He glanced back up in a moment of mischief and added, "Of course, I don't think you'd ever get the house to yourself, and they would be so mad if you tried to run away and buy it secretly."

Skull laughed a little at that, because he could definitely see that, Ken breaking down the door because he thinks Skull was kidnapped, Chikusa covering the walls in needles in a rare show of anger, and he can't even imagine what _Mukuro_ would do.

You should never assume you knew what a Mist was thinking, if you valued your dignity.

"But they love this new life, fighting mafia and falling asleep next to one another in comfortable bed," he waved his hand to the three, Ken shouting something at Mukuro and being slapped on the head by Chikusa for being so loud at midnight as the illusionist turned away dismissively, only riling the blond up even more. "I couldn't take that away from them."

"And you won't," Tsuna argued. "This…this is nice, and they like it, but I don't think they would like it at all if you weren't here, Skull-kun. They wouldn't be smiling – _really_ smiling, not that smile Mukuro gives the teachers when they insult Ken and haven't seen the spider on their shoulder yet – if you weren't here playing with us and telling them they did a good job when they protect me or when they are nice to other people. It may take them a while, but I think they would really love that little house on the island away from the city where you found them. I know I will, and so will kaa-san."

Skull stared back at Tsuna, surprised. "Tsuna-nii…you'd come live with me?"

The fluffy brunet frowned a little in confusion. "Of course I would, Skull-kun. You're my family."

The Cloud Arcobaleno stared at the little seven year old – soon to be eight, a tiny voice reminded him, and Skull made a note to remind the others – that he met months ago, that he protected from idiot parental choices and assassins, that he gave friends and support to, who sometimes reminded him of Giotto when the poor blond was as clumsy as a puppy with too big of paws, who just told him he was _family_, and he was nothing short of humbled at receiving a place in this selfless boy's heart. "The great Skull-sama has some dust in his eyes," he whimpered, turning away and wiping a hand over his face to try and remove the burning behind his eyes.

"You're my family too, Tsuna-nii," he choked out, and god it had been _years_ since he had last said those words. For years he had quietly considered Viper to be the closest thing he had to a sibling, but _saying_ something like that out loud, acknowledging that you had _family,_ made it so real, so _true_ and Skull knew he would tear down anyone who thought they could take this boy away from him.

Tsuna looked a little teary himself when Skull glanced down at him, but before he could say anything the other three returned, all talking about their fight and raring to ask the Arcobaleno how he thought they did. That was, until they caught sight of Skull's slightly red eyes from the tears. They immediately tensed at the sign that their savior had been upset and started looking around. "Skull-san, what happened?!" Ken asked, his nose twitching in an attempt to find an unnatural scent in the room. As Mukuro perched by the window near them to look for more people outside, Chikusa herded Tsuna back to the bed, Skull be taken along as he was still on Tsuna's head.

Ken joined them after a while, but Mukuro looked prepared to stay up all night in case whatever had upset the other two returned. "Come to bed, Mukuro-kun," Skull beckoned from his spot beside Tsuna and Ken. When the illusionist shot him a mulish look, the Arcobaleno snorted softly. "Tsuna-nii and I were discussing something emotional; that's why I looked upset. It's no one's fault, I promise."

"You could have told us that before we reacted so strongly," the pineapple-haired boy told him, put out as he briefly touched the window before slipping into the bed beside Tsuna. Skull assumed that Mukuro placed an illusion there, but couldn't really see and didn't bother asking.

Instead he smiled a little and curled up between the other two. "I was going to but you guys reacted too quickly, which was rather impressive," he teased and praised at once, making Mukuro furrow his brow as he briefly contemplated how to react to that before he laid down completely, obscuring him from Skull's view.

"We really need to get a new house byon," Ken noted, which made Tsuna laugh softly.

"You guys have been saying that for months now," he reminded them, before squeaking in surprise as Mukuro shifted closer to him.

"That's because we can't bear to leave you, Tsunayoshi-kun," the illusionist teased. "We keep arguing over whether or not we kidnap you alongside Skull-chan once we buy the house."

"I imagine the fact that the assassins could potentially have this address so would be harder to find and actually _paying_ for the house has something to do with it as well," Skull cheerfully reminded them, receiving a general rumble of discontent at that. Tsuna giggled again before closing his eyes and falling asleep, happy to see his friends so at ease once the situation was explained to them.

* * *

A few days later, Tsuna returned home to color everywhere and balloons on the ceiling and Nana and Skull waving them in, the purple haired child nearly covered in flour. "Happy Birthday Tsu-chan/Tsuna-nii!" They chorused, and the brunet began to grin wildly as the other boys herded him into the kitchen where a rather large tiramisu sat on the table and had Ken whooping in glee as he jumped for his seat at the table.

Chikusa patted Tsuna's shoulder with a quiet, "Happy Birthday" as Mukuro laughed slightly at the surprise on Tsuna's face and headed back to the door to admit the brooding Hibari that was standing outside.

As Chikusa led him to the table the brunet marvel at having his birthday celebrated. As much as his mother was a people-pleaser, she tended to forget his birthday and any other important dates concerning the family. Perhaps she did it to try and forget how long it had been since Iemitsu had been home, Skull had once suggested but the slant of his mouth told his distaste on the matter, as did Ken's growl and Mukuro's narrowing eyes.

With Skull around however Nana had no reason to forget the big day, and she probably enjoyed learning a new recipe by helping Skull make the tiramisu. "This is really good, Skull-kun!" Tsuna enthused as he took a bite of the dessert, the others adding their own compliments outside of Hibari who didn't accept any of it with a citing of his dislike of sweets and a wrinkled nose.

The Arcobaleno flapped his hand dismissively. "You don't have a lot to do when you're stuck in a child's body for decades. It's not perfect, but I like to think that I'm good at some Italian dishes." There was some sadness at the way he said it, but the light in his eyes said that he was very happy to be talking about it and healing from whatever made it sad.

They proceeded to have a small but enjoyable party which Nana left early for bed but the kids continued in their room after Hibari had nodded at Tsuna before spinning on his heel and leaving, a small container cradled under his arm which contained some of the pasta dish Skull made with Chikusa's help.

Tsuna couldn't remember much of the night after that, but when he woke up the next day Ken had some of Skull's make up on his face and Chikusa was wearing a skirt that Tsuna can't remember ever seeing. Tsuna's hair had been styled into braids and Skull had all of his makeup removed and his piercings had gone missing, which only reinforced Tsuna's suspicions that Mukuro was behind their current states alongside the lack of strange new additions to his profile or outfit. None of them talked about the ringing phone they'd blatantly ignored and unplugged after the fourth time it went off.

It was the best birthday he'd had yet, in Tsuna's opinion.

* * *

After that the months seemed to fly by, only interrupted by the return of slowly improving grades and the assassins they were repelling with increasing ease. By the time Christmas rolled around the assassins were coming in larger numbers because it was getting clear to some Families that something strange was going on, and Skull had to intervene once or twice.

On Christmas the kids exchanged some gifts, mostly just scarfs and gloves that they didn't have prepared for the oncoming cold, with books that they all liked here and there. They didn't get anything for Skull, but Mukuro merely smirked and said that the gift they had planned for Skull would take longer to acquire.

The Arcobaleno didn't seem to mind, having given them all festive gifts, like a pair of calf-length boots for Tsuna, a tri-corn hat for Chikusa, a stuffed parrot that clips on the shoulder for Ken and an eyepatch for Mukuro, who appeared quite amused once he'd divined the theme Skull was going for with his gifts.

After that they all played in the snow for a few hours before going back in and curling up beneath the kotatsu, Skull curling up next to Tsuna and fast asleep beneath the warm blanket. The brunet looked around at the others all beneath the comforter, Ken snoring loudly, Chikusa reading his new book and Mukuro nursing a mug of hot chocolate in his hands, his expression soft before he covered it up once he noticed Tsuna's eyes on him.

The bluenet gave him a smirk but Tsuna just smiled back and laid down next to Skull, pulling the comforter up higher around them. 'I can definitely live with this,' was the last thing he thought before he went to sleep, Skull murmuring slightly next to him.

* * *

"_It's your birthday, Alfredo. Is there anything in particular you want me to make?"_

"_Your tiramisu obviously! Yeesh, at this point you shouldn't even have to ask!"_

"_Fine, but don't blame me if you start getting fat. You like my desserts way too much."_

"_My weapon is a _fork_, Skull. My love of food should never be in question. You're just lucky that I haven't made you be a Family chef."_

"_Ha! As if; you want to keep all of my desserts to yourself."_

"_That is true. I may be the Vongola Quarto, but that doesn't mean I have to share my food as well."_

* * *

Sorry this is so late! Other muses have admittedly been distracting me. Thank you all for your patience in the matter! I don't know when the next chapter will come out, but it will likely be a timeskip.

Thanks for reading and please review.

Ja ne!


	10. Making Waves

Don't own KHR.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Making Waves

* * *

**Two and a Half Years Later**

Viper floated in the middle of the street, curiously examining the house that had once been where Skull and his charges had been staying alongside Sawada Tsunayoshi and his mother. It was six in the morning and there were no people out, so she didn't bother hiding herself as she floated to peer through the kitchen window.

Inside, Sawada Nana was humming cheerfully as she cooked breakfast – only enough for one, Viper noted. She suddenly sighed aloud, and placed the skillet down. "I sure hope Tsu-kun is having fun practicing to be a bachelor," she said to herself. "Such a strange request! I guess he just wants to be strong and capable like his Papa!" As she sighed girlishly and began settling down for breakfast, Viper barely withheld a snort.

Given the reports the Varia had begun making on threats within the Vongola, including the CEDEF, Sawada Tsunayoshi being both strong and capable _and_ like his father was an inherently contradictory statement.

So Tsunayoshi did not sleep in his mother's house, Viper noted. A security measure Skull put in, perhaps? Maybe, but that was implying that Skull was an over-reactive person. And while he was, he tended to kill more than one bird whenever he threw a stone if he was actually planning it out.

Giving an annoyed sigh, she slipped out her phone (decorated with an ouroboros charm that Skull sent her one Christmas) and text the Cloud Arcobaleno. **Where is your new residence? You are not at the Sawada household anymore, nor is your charge based on my research.** Might as well play with Skull a little while she was there.

A minute later, a new message appeared. _**O.O You've been on-and-off watching us?! You could have at least told me!**_ An address appeared afterwards, which Viper read before pausing and reading again. She slowly turned to look at the house across the street.

Skull's new residence was yards away from the Sawada household. Viper gave a put upon sigh and ignored the part of her that was impressed. Rare was the assassin that checked the houses relatively close to their target's whilst doing a hit, and Skull knew that on some level.

Setting herself on the ground to conserve energy, the esper walked over to the house across the street, noting that, on the outside, it appeared to be a fairly average house. She couldn't help but wonder if Skull had bought the property for any particular reason. Knocking on the door, Viper only had to wait a few seconds before the door was opened for her.

She stared at the barely awake Skull across from her, and blinked slowly. He had clearly only just woken up, likely from her text, and appeared to have randomly put on whatever was available. However, that failed to explain why he was wearing a long, ankle-length purple and black midi skirt. Which, given his physical youth and height, was clearly his. It looked as if it were made for ease of movement, but…that still didn't explain anything. She ignored it for the time being. "Skull," she greeted.

"Hey there Viper," he said back, letting out a yawn as he opened the door more for her to come in. As she passed through the entryway, the brush of Mist Flames caught her attention, and she stared up stoically at the doorframe.

"You've been teaching them how to imbue an object with their Flames? So soon?" Imbuing Flames into objects was a trial of precision, and often led to explosions and injuries if not trained properly.

"They were learning it without me," he argued back, "it only made sense for me to make sure they were learning it properly. They are quite an impressive bunch, learning as much as they did on their own." The Cloud Arcobaleno's face lit up with undeniable fondness and Viper smiled slightly beneath her hood. They walked down a hall to the kitchen, and Viper blinked at the hamper of kittens that were dozing quietly in the sitting room corner and heard Phantasma ribbit as they caught sight of the large tank with Oodako resting in it.

When they entered the kitchen, the Mist user sat at the table as Skull sluggishly had the coffee pot start brewing. Eyes still at half-mast, the purple haired infant dragged himself into another chair and blearily stared at her. "So what are you doing here, Viper? Outside of keeping an eye on us, apparently." Skull sounded skeptical of that, but didn't bother bringing it up.

"Your little Mist child has contacted me in my dreams with what he calls a business proposal under your recommendation," she told him, and watched as he relaxed a little at the news, curious. "Is it that lucrative of an item?"

"I think so," he confirmed. "It admittedly has a bit of a limited demand, but those who demand it would want it so badly that they'll be very willing to pay near any number for it."

"How limited is the demand?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing at the potential weakness.

"Six people, including you."

Viper stared at Skull, utterly baffled. "Why would I invest in an object that can only be sold to six people?" She asked him slowly, wondering if he had received a head injury since the last time they spoke.

Skull only grinned. "You'll see. Once they wake up, I can demonstrate its uses to you."

Viper hummed at that answer and decided to accept it for the time being in favor of interrogating Skull. "Why did you move all of the children to a different house only across the street from Sawada's previous residence? You could have easily moved across town with none of the CEDEF's members any the wiser."

"It was a conflict of interests," he said easily, his eyes only straying from her to glance at the brewing coffee. "Tsuna and I didn't want to leave Nana-okaasan alone in the address where assassins could find her, but she refuses to move in case Iemitsu doesn't read her letters to know about the change in address and Ken, Chikusa and Mukuro felt uncomfortable around her. So we compromised by getting a house across the street for Tsuna to spend most of his time here while still living with his mom." The words came with little hesitation, but the way the Cloud Arcobaleno avoided looking at her spoke of his discomfort.

Viper could guess why.

"You've been handling her…condition rather well," she said, observation over compassion, but Skull merely made a face as he nodded.

"You can't blame an External Rain for losing their balance," he said, expression twisted into sympathy and an underlying fear that Viper could understand.

External Rains were considered the traditional Rain, calming and a trusted second-in-command that could resolve any friction between the other elements – besides Lightning, who were typically too stubborn and ignored the attempts – if the Sky was away for an extended amount of time. But they were also known for a warped sense of reality if they weren't Harmonized with a Sky quickly enough, a mental unbalance lurking within them that the Internal Rains lacked as their Flames expressed themselves inwardly.

Mists tend to be unnerved around External Rains for this reason, and Viper was well-known for charging Lal extra for her presence in meetings because of this desire to avoid her. "It certainly encouraged us to move out more quickly, as Mukuro couldn't stand to be alone around her at all," he added sadly, confirming Viper's theory that the heterochromatic-eyed boy was an Internal Mist as mental imbalance disturbed them even more than an External Mist.

"You seemed to enjoy her company before you left," she noted from his forlorn posture, and he nodded.

"She's very kind – for the most part – and cares deeply for Tsuna and the kids, and took me in without asking any questions, but I couldn't let the kids be stuck there with an adult they didn't trust whose mind only made Mukuro even more upset." His words were regretful, but sincere – these kids clearly come first in his mind over the kind but overall self-sufficient woman.

Viper hummed at that and filed it away for later before moving on to something more of interest to her. "While reports of assassins coming to this area seemed to have increased, they have been taken care of efficiently from what I've seen. You must have impressive guards."

Skull shot her a blank look that didn't bode well for her sanity. "…Yes, if you accept that the "guards" we have are three children experimented on by the Estraneo and another twelve year old obsessed with defeating more powerful opponents, I would say the protection detail here is quite stellar."

…To be frank, the CEDEF have done more on their own to harm their reputation than any smear campaign the Varia could ever make. "Iemitsu's aware of assassins being sent to Namimori but hasn't assigned a protection detail to Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Skull shrugged and nodded. "Maybe he thinks it'll take away from Tsuna living a "normal life"? We honestly aren't sure, and I try not to go into it 'cause it just leads to all of them complaining about useless people for an hour or so. And if they start that, I like to chip in too; it's cathartic."

"I can imagine so." And she does, imagines charging the Varia members to sit in on these meetings (or something similar) and just complain about idiots and stress and how they don't want to kill the minion that screwed up, they did it last time! She imagines Squalo would attend these meetings too often for it to be held in Japan with regards to agendas. She also sees herself getting quite rich from the idea, and files it away for consideration on a later date.

Before they continued with their conversation, both paused at the sound of pattering feet, though Skull remained relaxed even as Viper subtly tensed. A child with fluffy brown hair stumbled in, his clumsiness clearly due to having just woken up as he rubbed at his eyes. "Skull, why are you up so early?" he yawned, opening his eyes and freezing at the sight of the other child at the table.

Skull waved at him, more awake now and getting up to reach for the coffee pot. "Tsuna, this is my friend and fellow Arcobaleno, Viper. Viper, this is Sawada Tsunayoshi, my charge and brother."

The Mist rolled her eyes at Skull's easygoing tone and nodded in Tsunayoshi's general direction. "You are Iemitsu's spawn."

The child nodded back, but his smile seemed more forced now. "I am, but please don't bring him up around me. Iemitsu and I don't really see eye-to-eye on many things, one of which being the treatment of family." Without waiting for her response, he moved past them and started up the stove. "Do you want breakfast, Skull?"

"That would be awesome, Tsuna-nii, thanks!" Skull brightened up at the idea of food, even as a manic light lurked in his eyes from his sip of coffee.

Viper shot her companion a wary look, not wanting to see him get too hyper with her still around, before turning to Tsunayoshi. "I will not charge you for making me food," she told him magnanimously, and the brunet shot her a strange look but did put more eggs on the skillet. She glanced at Skull, who was gazing blankly at the wall behind her. "You grew tired of being the only cook in the house, I take it," she said, clearly referring to the ten year old cooking instead of Skull.

Skull blinked slowly, focusing on her after a moment, and answered. "Well, yes, but I try to be in the room with him in case something comes up. I was also encouraging the kids to find hobbies for themselves a while ago, so Tsuna picked up cooking, Ken likes to garden, Chikusa is obsessed the computer I got him a year ago, and Mukuro wants to be a writer."

That last one made Viper raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "Mukuro…the one ready to poison me for calling him an Estraneo…wants to be an author."

"Yep," he replied, shifting a little and taking a larger sip of coffee. "He told me he wants to be the next Mary Shelley."

"His writings focus on the human condition and humanity creating things that turn against them after prolonged abuse," Tsunayoshi expanded, sounding as if he were reciting something he'd heard one too many times.

Viper stared at the small brunet before shifting to give Skull a Look. "You let them read Frankenstein," she said, and it may not have been an accusation but Skull rushed to defend himself.

"They had to choose an English classic to read and tell us about to test how their English literacy is progressing," he responded, putting his head on the table as the mug stood between him and Viper. He groaned a little at the memory. "Hibari was annoyed the herbivores won in Lord of the Flies."

Viper blinked as Tsuna made a similarly despairing sound and brought plates over for the two, more on Skull's plate which implied they simply planned to share. The Mist Arcobaleno nodded her thanks and waited until Skull and the child took a bite before she did the same; Tsunayoshi had cooked everything in the same pan from her observations so it was unlikely that the food was poisoned.

Things grew quiet between the three as they focused on their breakfast, and it was silent for several minutes before someone else stumbled into the room.

That someone was Mukuro, his hair even spikier than normal due to bed head and likely only awake because he'd smelled breakfast and decided that food and the other two's presence outweighed going back to sleep. "Good morning Tsunayoshi-kun, Skull-chan." His voice was rougher as he had just woken up, but the other two simply said good morning back and he went about getting food for himself. His single red eye flicked over to Viper, before dismissing her and sitting next to Tsunayoshi. "I see that your little friend has joined us today, Skull-chan."

The phrase made Viper's teeth clench a little at the blatant disrespect, and Skull was conveniently not looking as Mukuro's previously warm food became mysteriously ice cold, as did his coffee. His chair creaked ominously, and the mentally younger Mist only had time to let out an expletive before the legs broke beneath him. "No cursing, Mukuro-kun," Skull said, amused. "If you're going to insult the strongest Mist in the world, you need to anticipate retaliation." If his own coffee had gotten cold with Mukuro's annoyed response, he didn't notice as Viper rewarmed it to further irritate the child.

The bluenet's eyes narrowed at the hooded figure, clearly guessing what she'd done, before moving passed it with a short sniff. "And now we can discuss business," he announced, finally getting to why she was there.

"I have been charging you for every minute you have wasted sitting here and wasting my time by not speaking of this sooner," she told him, peevish. "Now explain to me how an item limited to only six people, _including me_, could be lucrative."

Mukuro nodded to Skull, who took out an amulet from beneath his shirt. "I asked Skull-chan not to tell you about it until I had a higher probability of replicating the object." With that, Mukuro turned to Skull, Viper doing the same.

The Cloud Arcobaleno shifted his chair back, focused on the amulet, and gave it some of his Flames. A dark blue mist surrounded him, growing bigger, before disappearing. Viper stared in shock.

For there, sitting in his chair and clothes still fitted, was an eighteen year old Skull.

* * *

*Omake*

"I never got to ask. Skull."

The Cloud looked at her, curious. "What is it, Viper?"

She paused before waving a hand in his and Tsuna's direction. "Why are you and Tsunayoshi wearing skirts?"

The two blinked at her, confused, before looking down. Immediately realization hit them, and Tsuna grabbed the skirt, shrieking. "HIIIIIEEEEE! Mukuro! I told you to stop doing that! Skull's story was for entertainment, not inspiration!"

"Kufufu, I'll have you know that I found it very entertaining, Tsunayoshi-kun," the Mist drawled playfully, a smirk appearing on his face. "I just happen to find you look very fetching in skirts."

While the two of them were arguing (or rather, Tsuna was complaining and Mukuro was teasing him), Viper looked at him for his explanation, and Skull shrugged. "Mukuro started it, but I like them. They're swishy." To prove his point, he began to do small twirls, grinning as the skirt flared up a little.

Viper regrets asking.

*End Omake*

* * *

To be frank, I decided I needed to speed things up a bit, or this fic would never end. So a time skip seemed to be in my best interest. I was really exhausted when I was writing some of the earlier scenes, so please tell me if you catch anything I might have missed.

Thanks for reading and please review.

Ja ne!


	11. Panacea

Don't own KHR.

Panacea

* * *

Viper gave a long, slow blink as she took in Skull's returned adult form. As she did so, her mind was scrambling, trying to understand what had just taken place. Had Skull broken the curse somehow? It didn't seem like it and, suspicious, the Mist user sent out some of her Flames to test it. It came back as she had suspected, and yet not. There was definitely a shell of Mist Flames surrounding Skull's form, making him an adult, but there were also traces of Sun, Rain, Cloud and Sky intermingled in.

That's when something Skull mentioned earlier came back to her, and Viper turned to give him a look from which he could easily divine the rare surprise she felt. "They were learning how to imbue objects with Flames without you. I take it this was what you were referring to?"

He gave her a large grin that was equal parts proud and embarrassed and rubbed the necklace a little with his hand. "Yeah. It took them three years of working on it to finish, but they actually did! They all worked together on it; Mukuro's Mist Flames were the main component, obviously. Ken and Chikusa had to work together to make the Sun Flames strengthen the illusion without dissipating the illusion itself, and Hibari's Cloud Flames were used so that the necklace knew what Flame type to activate for. The Sky Flames provide the trigger, and set off the Mist Flames without accidentally dissipating them."

Viper mentally made note of all of this information as she nodded along to Skull's explanation. "And this is what you wish to sell me? An item that lets the Arcobaleno look their original age?"

Skull's grin gave that away, but Mukuro stepped into the conversation before he could say another word. "With the understanding that you'll split your profits with us 75-25 in our favor."

The illusion mistress stopped herself from giving the boy a dirty look, but it was a near thing, instead coming out as mocking. "I would never give so much to such a _small_ part of the selling process."

This of course made Mukuro's hackles rise up and he gave her a vicious not-smile in response. "You seem to think that you'll have other ways of getting the creation process for this amulet. I am the _only_ person who knows the entire process and, while we told some of how we did it to Skull-chan, it certainly wasn't everything."

At Viper's look Skull shrugged in agreement, adding on, "It's not like I could have done it all myself anyhow, and wouldn't have a need for it otherwise." Which was true; they had already given Skull an amulet without any strings attached, and while he might find it useful to know later on, Skull wasn't the type to plan that far ahead in regards to people he doesn't even know yet.

So Viper sighed, and turned to face the irritating Mist child. "75-25 is far too much. 30-70."

Heterochromatic eyes narrowed. "70-30."

"35-65."

"55-45."

At this point the two's Flames had created sparks that were clashing between their eyes as they glared one another down. Normally Viper wouldn't have allowed _anyone_ to haggle her this low, but the child was right in that he had information on a highly limited object that she wanted. And he _knew that_. "40-60," the words came out like acid, and the child seemed to sense that he wouldn't get anything better out of her as he grit his teeth but agreed.

A moment later Tsunayoshi was gasping for air as the tension in the room began to lift from where it had been weighing on the two non-Mist users' lungs. "Well that was mildly terrifying," Skull inputted happily from his spot at the table, not sounding too bothered but breathing conspicuously harder than normal, but Viper was too irritated to be too concerned while the Mist brat shot the other two a look in mild confusion and alarm.

"We made sure the item could be replicated before we came to the decision to try and sell to you, so here's the prototype made for Mist users." The necklace shimmered into existence before Viper's very eyes, but she simply raised an unimpressed eyebrow and accepted the amulet as it floated into her cupped hands.

There wasn't anything particularly unique about the amulet, with the exception of the faint indigo glow that seemed to emanate from it when it touched her hands. Checking it over for anything suspicious, the glow only appeared to represent the Flame trigger it responded to. A quick glance at Skull's amulet, which did indeed glow a faint purple now that she knew what to look for, confirmed this, and she cautiously slipped the item over her head. It did nothing as it thumped against her chest, and she began feeding it her Flames along with an image of what she wanted to appear as, her grasp on her Flames tight in case she needed to regain control of them.

But the amulet simply glowed even brighter and what felt like a second skin began to cover Viper's body, carefully mingling with her mind. Most likely to ease the transition from short to long limbs and the height difference, she observed, and opened her eyes upon realizing she had closed them to watch the foreign Mist Flames interact with her own.

The first thing she noticed was that she was indeed taller than she was in her infant form, the extra height feeling strange but not so much that it was debilitating to her. She closely examined her also-expanded robe, and found the thread count to be the same but the threads lengthened to cover her taller form. Inspection complete, Viper looked up and met Skull's eyes, who offered her a tentative smile that she nodded brusquely at.

She was…happy that she had a way to appear her true age without overly expending her own Flame supply. She was also ecstatic that, in her own way, she was striking back at the man that forced her into that infant form, the Man in the Iron Mask who tormented many of them in their dreams still. But any other emotion she felt wouldn't be observed, not with Skull's children still present and watching.

So with a soft sigh Viper bottled up the emotions she felt roiling inside her, and glanced at the Mist child. "It is acceptable."

Immediately the younger Mist puffed up, offended at the slight he perceived against him and his companion's invention. But Skull smiled understandingly at her and took another sip of his coffee, whose cup now looked comically small in his resized hand. "Some things haven't been ironed out yet with the prototype," he revealed, and though the Mist brat shot him an affronted look at revealing such a weakness to someone he clear viewed as a threat he didn't interrupt and instead bit more harshly into his food as Tsunayoshi not so subtly nudged him.

Viper shot him a raised brow, unseen beneath her cloak. "Elaborate. Time is money, after all."

Skull grinned at his friend's dry statement before tapping the amulet resting on his chest. "No control on age for one. It immediately sets you to an approximation of what you looked like at 18, so it's not really meant for undercover missions or infiltration. As we perceive them," he tacked on, and Viper closed her mouth as she was preparing to interrupt him. "It doesn't take into account aging yet either, so now we can either look like 5 year olds or 18 year olds, nothing else."

"It usefulness is limited then," she surmised, and the Cloud Arcobaleno nodded.

"For now. I use it so that I look older for when they need me to come in to talk with the teachers at their school. And let's be real; a hat and mustache can't cover up this amazing-ness, but a completely different age makes me that much cooler." His free hand reached how to play with his skirt as he spoke, and Viper snorted a little at the cheesy wink he shot her.

He grew serious again and put up a second finger, tapping the amulet once more. "Another issue; the necklace only works on you and immediate skin contact items, nothing else. So clothes, jewelry, prosthetics, and so on. It won't even work on my motorcycle, and believe me, I've tried." A look of mourning, only half-fake, swept over his expression and the two children beside him started shifting their gaze between him and each other. Viper had a feeling that that issue may be the first one to go, regardless of the other issues' severity.

"You could wear less clothes, perhaps take off your gloves and keep contact with your motorcycle that way." But even as she said it Viper felt distaste twisting her mouth at the idea. It was too unreliable, and the face Skull made showed that he agreed with her thought.

"Nah. What if I have to take my hands off the wheel for a maneuver or even a stunt if I want to practice? And shorts could theoretically work, but that would be more of a health hazard, and again intense stunts can't be done at all. It's annoying, but what can you do? I'll just revel in the amazing-ness of my miniature, fully functioning motorcycle." He shrugged and tried to play it off as nothing but Viper remained unconvinced.

"And hey, I _could_ make a new motorcycle! It wouldn't be convenient to have to jump between two motorcycles when I shift forms, but it would be a good side project. And it'll be good for when we regain our true forms. It's not like my current motorcycle will grow _with me_." As he began to make plans for the future out loud, Viper felt a tendril of coldness creep and curl around her torso.

"Skull," she interrupted, and the way she spoke – hard, unyielding – grabbed his attention as well as the children's who had started staring at their rambling caretaker. "Your little Mist has created an illusion amulet that is convenient for us – he has _not_ cured us of our curse all together. You may plan for that tomorrow, but it may never come to us." And that was reasonable to her. From what Skull has told her, no one survives being an Arcobaleno. Your best bet was to become Vindice, but some that was a fate worse than death.

Only Skull has lived through the Arcobaleno Curse by her estimation, and there were many times where she has looked at him and thought that not even that was the case.

But now he looked alive, and happy, beaming at her with a smile that had only partially dimmed from her admonishments. "But look at what they've already achieved," he urged her. "We have years yet before we are close to being in danger and they, kids ranging from ten to twelve years old, are already making strides in doing things we never thought of to help with the Curse. No, the Curse isn't broken yet, but doesn't the remedy for it feel closer than it did even a few hours ago for you?"

It did…and that's why Viper was so wary. Skull doesn't say it, but he's been hurt in ways others haven't and ways others have far longer than she has. It does not benefit her to see him hurt again (a part of her thinks it may even be a detriment, but that part is weak and she does not acknowledge it often). She looks at the two children in front of her, one smiling at Skull like his words have done more to help shape him than any previous action and the other maintaining his heavy glower on the older Mist, and dismissed her concerns for the time being.

After all, she knew exactly who she would take her pound of flesh from if his hopes were dashed once again.

* * *

_Viper could taste blood welling up in her mouth as her teeth dug mercilessly into her lower lip, the light from the Arcobaleno ritual disorienting her. But she would rather cause herself even more pain that show weakness by crying out as fire coursed through her veins, both filling her with power and somehow sapping away her strength, bottling it up in the indigo pacifier that hovered before her mockingly. It took everything that it gave and more, and Viper planned her retribution against the man who managed to con her._

_Glaring up from beneath her hood, Viper tried to catch the face of the man who had wronged her, but he was turned away, instead looking thoughtfully to his left. The Mist user followed his gaze, landing on the purple-haired teen. Where the others were still standing, Skull had fallen to his knees, and Viper would've huffed at the weakness he was showing were it not for the convulsions of his back and shoulders. Her eyes narrowed, and she used some of her remaining Flames to hide distractions from her sight, focusing on the movement of the other Arcobaleno's Flames._

_Most of it was swirling into the pacifier, as it was meant to judging by the pacifiers surrounding them, but some was branching off, moving behind him to curl around the Rain-Arcobaleno-to-be, Lal Mirch. But something felt off about this, not including the fact that Skull held no love for the strict woman he was now helping, and Viper soon found the cause for her suspicions._

_The black, stillborn pacifier that sucked mercilessly on the other woman's Flames was the answer she needed, further clarified by the healthy blue pacifier floating in front of the blonde man standing beside her._

_And then the light of the ritual grew even brighter, forcing her to close her eyes and preserve her Flames. It was then that Skull lost the battle they were all undergoing, and Viper would not deny the goosebumps she felt as his scream echoed around them._

* * *

This is mostly exposition and filler, as the first 900 words were written months ago, so there will be more talking and hopefully more plot-relevant stuff next chapter. Thank you all so much for supporting me with the slower updates. You're all awesome!

Thanks for reading and please review.

Ja ne!


	12. Island of Misfit Toys

Don't own KHR.

Island of Misfit Toys

* * *

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as the sound of the door opening and closing reached their ears. With the sound came a flurry of emotions over each person's face; Skull and Tsuna looked mildly concerned and horrified respectively, while Mukuro's face took on a gleeful expression. Viper examined these changes and tensed up in preparation for whoever entered.

The boy that walked in was not at all who she was anticipating, and she privately thanked her hood as her face screwed up in distaste. "Have you been in contact with Fon?" She asked pointedly as her eyes scanned over the too-familiar face and bearing. The child shot her an equally unhappy look before dumping the jacket he'd had bundled in his arms into Skull's.

"I have not," the Cloud Arcobaleno informed her as he shifted the bundle and moved back a piece of it, cooing as a tiny kitten came into view and began to mew at them demandingly. As Skull pet the kitten and started looking for a dish and food for it, he offhandedly introduced them. "Mammon, this is Hibari Kyouya. Hibari, this is my friend Mammon."

"For further context, Kyouya-chan," Mukuro sang out, eyes locked onto Viper's form with a malicious smirk, "Mammon is the one that teleported Skull away and how we made his acquaintance all that time ago."

Skull, who was in the middle of rifling through the fridge, Tsuna, who had moved to help Skull and was holding on to the kitten, and Hibari all froze for entirely different reasons. The purple-haired child looked back apprehensively, and only had a moment to say, "_Damn it,_ Mukuro –!" before Hibari was swooping toward the other Arcobaleno, tonfa in hand.

Viper had anticipated something like happening once the Mist child had opened his mouth, however, and neatly replaced herself with the irritating child right as Hibari was about to hit her and watched from her new spot as the two boys managed to move somewhat smoothly around one another, the Cloud's tonfa angling upward as the Mist child ducked neatly underneath his arm, prompting her to evaluate them a little more carefully.

Not the type to be deterred Hibari neatly kicked off a suddenly appearing illusion to maintain momentum and dove from above at the Mist Arcobaleno, and Viper scowled even as she had a geyser of water erupt from beneath the boy. Just before it made contact with his body the water abruptly transformed into flower petals that seemed to mock her for a second before she abruptly regained her composure and materialized a whip in her right hand to hurtling at him.

The boy managed to block the whip with his tonfa but Viper wasn't done, turning her weapon in to a constrictor that began to wind up the Cloud child's arm. The snake suddenly turned into yarn and Viper had a moment to send an irritated glare to the Mist brat before she summoned shackles to attached themselves to the Cloud's ankles and sent a cloud of dust flying to the Mist child in an effort to blind him. She vaguely heard Skull squawk something about the food but dismissed it to watch her two foes work to become level with each other, Hibari breaking his chains with ease and Mukuro turning the dust into a flurry of bubbles that popped immediately.

"And now the floors! Alright I actually want to you guys to _stop_ now!" Skull sounded like he was truly becoming agitated now and Viper allowed the two children to see her Mist Flames subside, watching them closely.

The former Estraneo boy scowled at her but allowed his trident to fade from view while Hibari also scowled but refused to put away his tonfas, eyes remaining firmly locked on her. "You willfully kidnapped a citizen of Namimori," he told her, glare as fierce as when their fight began. "You will be bitten to death."

"That's fine, Hibari! Just not in the freaking _kitchen_! We have a training room for fighting in. Or, I don't know, _outside_. And just so you know, while it surprised me, I had told Mammon before I met you guys that they could teleport me whenever they needed to as long as they send me back when they're done." Skull didn't sound too concerned with her impending fight with one of his children, but that was reasonable. For one, he _was_ trying to explain the thing that had clearly sent the child into a rage in the first place. For another, the child, while bloodthirsty, seemed to have enough of a sense of self-preservation to not die in his fervor to "bite her to death". And he knew Viper would leave the moment she felt the fight was too out of her favor. "Also, Mammon won't be here for too long; they came in to look at the amulets we can get out to the other Arcobaleno, nothing more."

"I will charge you my consultation and visiting fees only," Viper agreed, and took no small pleasure in the way Sawada Tsunayoshi gained a dismayed look, the Mist brat grit his teeth and Hibari actually bared his as further challenge.

Skull however grinned at her. "The friendship policy for avoiding extraneous fees is awesome!" he whooped to himself happily before turning to the children. "Tsuna-nii, let's get that kitten cleaned and settled with the others; Mukuro can get the rest of the amulets and, since he was the one behind the whole idea overall, he can discuss how the money will be distributed with Mammon. Hibari, did you see anything amiss during patrol?"

Hibari shook his head sharply, eyes still locked onto Viper's form. "The pathetic false-carnivores have retreated for the time being, I anticipate they'll return in a week. Outside of them, the yakuza has nearly fully vacated the premises." His lips ticked up for a minute, vicious smile. "They don't appear to respond well to the Mimic's illusions interfering with their attempt to defend themselves from me."

Well I'm glad you and Mukuro are getting along better now," Skull praised, looking quite pleased as he nodded at Hibari and patted Mukuro on the shoulder. He then turned fully to face Tsuna, skirt flaring slightly behind him. "Alright then, let's go get the newest kitten cleaned up and in the basket with his new sweater."

"No sweater," Hibari told them in annoyance, voice aggrieved as if they've had this argument before. He had put away his weapons by then and was acquiring a mug of tea, never fully turning away from Viper.

Skull pouted outrageously and stamped his foot whilst activating his amulet once more. "One day you'll capitulate Hibari-kun, mark my words," he swore, even as he began to shrink down to his five year old form. He walked out in an exhausted huff after that, Tsuna following him with an amused smile after bowing shallowly to Viper who nodded in response. Alone with the two children who perhaps hated her the most, the Mist Arcobaleno sighed a little and turned to face them, now much more adjusted to her new height than she had been before the two tried to attack her.

"How do you want your share of the money to arrive?" she asked, ever the professional, arms crossed in front of her. "Bank account? Wire transfer? Information?"

The two boys looked at each other in contemplation, hands gesturing briefly before the Cloud made a sound of disgust at the other. "Why are you suggesting this?" he demanded, annoyed. "Sentimentality is beyond us."

"Perhaps," the Mist brat allowed, eyes narrowed in response. "But if there is anyone I consider worthy of being the reason to _try_ and understand it, it would be Skull-chan."

Hibari snorted but jerked his head in what might have been an affirmative before turning to grab some of the food that was left over from breakfast. "Do as you will," he grunted, glowering at Mukuro when the other shot him an overly wide grin in response.

The Mist child turned to look at her and crossed his arms in a mirror to her own posture. "We want half of it in the communal bank account shared between myself, Skull-chan, Kyouya-kun, Tsunayoshi-kun, Chikusa and Ken, and the other half put away in a bank account to invest in some…Mediterranean property."

Viper blinked and felt as the pieces of a puzzle she only had the vaguest inkling of a form of began piecing themselves together. "Oh? A specific request. Are you not aware that there are still waves being made from the dissolution of the Estraneo and the unrest being found within the Vongola? Normally I would not question such actions, but Skull will give me a disappointed look if I don't at least assure that your mental faculties are not compromised."

Mukuro frowned at her in response to the jab and waved a hand at her concerns. "My mental faculties are functioning quite normally, certainly better than Skull-chan and Tsunayoshi-kun's are at this time of the day. I want half of the money made from these amulets and any money I inherit as the new head of the Estraneo Family to go into this bank account and all of us but Skull-chan should be able to access it. It will be a surprise for him once his curse has been permanently removed."

A gift for Skull…Mediterranean property…for whenever the Curse is lifted…Viper felt her blood go cold even as a haze entered her vision for a second. "You're asking for money to buy Skull that island he's always wanted, are you not?" Cold, humorless triumph swept through her as the boys both tensed and watched her with a new wariness, Hibari reaching for one of his stowed away weapons. "I'm…impressed with how quickly he has become attached to all of you, to tell you something as private as that. It took years of knowing him before Skull told me of the one dream he stills holds onto despite our circumstances." It had been a low day for Viper, the restrictions to her Flames bringing her great frustration and newly bringing her to blows with Fon when the man began to _pity_ her and try and say how "expected" and "understandable" her new limitations were.

She'd answer with something low and scathing about his lack of pride and answering to the Triads and suddenly Skull was there, chirping some bright and cheerful nonsense at Fon and all but throwing the man back into a calmer emotional state as the Storm Arcobaleno rolled his eyes with good humor at whatever random information Skull felt like giving him about Oodako or his motorcycle.

And then Skull turned to her with wide, shining eyes and said he needed help imagining a new design for his motorcycle and was wondering if she would mind helping. Viper seized the out as she saw it and nodded, being herded away to his part of the garage in mere minutes. It was there that Skull let slip his little dream, the only one he doesn't tell every person on the street, the only one that has remained with him through the centuries (his words, not hers).

To have him tell her something so intimate to his person, so important to understanding who he was underneath the piercings and the manic grin…it meant a great deal to her.

And it still did, to this day.

"I will agree to the splitting of the profit to two separate bank accounts and the transfers needed from the former Estraneo Family to the island account," she told them, before twisting her Flames and letting a pair of malevolent red eyes peer out from her hood. "But know that I will be monitoring your actions with increased scrutiny. Rare is it that Skull will actually allow anyone into his life, and furthermore into his heart. While he does not tell me much, I know that the last Family Skull tied himself to betrayed him in ways he refuses to talk about, and I will not allow history to repeat itself. You will do right by him, or you will be lucky if you die with your mind intact at all."

Hibari and Mukuro nodded in unison. "I would expect no less."

* * *

_Skull was in Angelino's office, cleaning out his desk with a face that would have immediately made any Mafioso that caught sight of him to turn tail immediately. It was the face of a person who was clearly holding back everything they were feeling, for fear of it letting loose and destroying everything around them._

_His hand hovered over the birth certificate he found in the desk, the only proof of the Vongola Fifth's daughter, Ambra. Skull took a shuddering breath and slipped the certificate into his black jacket. Given the circumstances of Angelino's death, he'd rather the little one not have a target hovering over her and her mother's heads for the rest of their lives. Just the thought of Angelino's wife had Skull's eyes darkening even more._

_Marina had been inconsolable when Skull had confirmed her fears, giving the brunette Angelino's katar as it belonged to her as far as he was concerned following Angelino's murder. She'd sobbed her heart out into his shoulder, and Skull had allowed a few of his own tears to escape as his Sky's wife and Rain Guardian released the grief that had grabbed hold of her and clung to him as if he were the only thing that kept her standing right then and there._

_Ambra joined them soon after, blonde hair a punch to the gut even as she hugged his waist and cried loudly to him for comfort, her bloodshot amber eyes giving away how little she'd slept. Her Intuition was only a curse to her right then and Skull wanted nothing more than to undo everything that had happened in the last three days, to do something, _anything_ that would keep Angelino alive._

"_Skull," a voice called out, and Skull jolted out of his memories of the previous day, casually allowing his hand to skim the desk and grab onto a picture frame he saw there. His heart clenched; it was the one of Angelino and Marina on a gondola at twilight, Skull acting as the gondolier as "protection" but really there because Angelino felt like playing a prank on him on that particular day. "Simora," he said back, struggling to hold back the heartbreak that shot through him._

_The older gentleman entered the room with a respectful dip to his head, watching as Skull tenderly removed the photo and added it to his own wallet before returning to cleaning out the desk. "I'm sorry to hear about Angelino's death; he was still so young."_

"_He only got to be a Boss for _5 years_, Simora," Skull told him, broken. "For 5 years, we were at the top of the world, and then that world dragged him down. And why? Because he wasn't as strong as the last Boss. His Intuition was phenomenal. We were going to _change the world_." The papers in his hands crinkled as Skull's grip on them tightened for a moment before he forcefully relaxed them._

_Simora stayed silent for a moment longer before he spoke up. "You still can Skull."_

"_Oh? And how will I do that?" Skull didn't mean to sound so mocking, but he couldn't stop himself from hissing a little at such a presumptuous statement._

"_Join my group as our Cloud Guardian."_

_Skull stared at Simora, not believing the words he'd just heard. In the back of his mind, a slender tether strained, barely remaining intact. "How can you say that? I just lost _my Sky_, Simora. My Sky, and brother in bond, and to do what you have just done, say what you have just said, is to insult that bond."_

_The older gentleman fumbled for a moment. "I didn't mean it as such, Skull," he tried to soothe, taking a small step back to give the purple-haired man a little more room. "I simply know who the other Guardians will be when I take the mantle as the Sixth Vongola Boss, and I don't have a Cloud yet, so I was just offering –"_

"_Well don't," Skull snapped, placing the papers he was holding into the box with a little more force than intended. "It's only a matter of time until the next set of Arcobaleno are chosen, and I must answer the call. And I will also…," he took a fortifying breath, "I will also be cutting my ties to the Vongola. For good."_

"_Why?!" For a moment, the sympathy on Simora's face faded, replaced by surprise and anger, before it reappeared. But it was enough to confirm Skull's suspicions and his face darkened dramatically. An audible snap echoed in his head as the tether finally gave way to strain that was placed on it._

"_Did you know," He asked the other man innocently, "that Angelino's Rain Guardian and I were in the room when Angelino's death took place? I had just stepped out when I heard a shout and ran back in. The bullet that left the hole in his side had contained a large dose of Rain Flames that were set to go off at a specific time." Skull watched with a detached interest as the blood steadily drained from Simora's face. "At 5:59 in the morning, a large flare of foreign Rain Flames shut down Angelino's organs, at least giving him the honor of a painless death._

"_I recognized those Flames the moment I met your prospective Rain Guardian. Do not lie to me, Simora. You killed your own nephew to take the Vongola mantle with your blood-stained fingers. And I will have nothing to do with the Vongola anymore, not with people like you running the show."_

"_If you know all of this," Simora asked, his hands drifting down to rest on his boomerang, "then why are you just leaving? Why not kill me?"_

"_I would love to do nothing more," Skull admitted easily, still cleaning Angelino's old desk with mechanical efficiency. He imagined summoning a chain, spearing Simora through the sternum with it and watching as he drowned in his own blood. But then he thought of Marina and Ambra and how he needed to get them out _now_, before they suffered from a tragic "accident" as well. "But I know my Sky, and there are some things more important than revenge that I must attend to in his honor. _

"_However," a smile crossed briefly over his face, dark satisfaction curling in his gut. "I will tell the others what you have done, and what you planned to do. And they will stay, because they are still loyal to the Vongola in a way I can't be anymore. And they will take you down. Somehow, someway, they will see to it that the 6__th__ Generation is both the bloodiest and the shortest Generation to ever be seen."_

_Skull walked away with the boxes, whistling a vaguely cheerful rendition of a funeral dirge, enjoying the horror he saw on Simora's face before turning a corner and disappearing from sight._

* * *

Hopefully we'll get into more character introductions next chapter, and have a better balance of serious and lighthearted stuff. Also, sorry I'm taking so long to update. I'm finally out of school but I'm having a hard time balancing my free time with all of the other obligations I have. Hopefully I'll update faster next time.

Thanks for reading and please review.

Ja ne!


	13. Made of This

Don't own KHR.

Made of This

* * *

"I can't believe we'd missed that Mammon person this morning," Ken grumbled to himself, arms crossed mulishly while Chikusa examined the kitchen and the faint traces of Flames that still lingered there. "We coulda helped Mukuro and Hibari kick their ass." He took a large bite of his breakfast, chewing angrily but being sure to send Tsuna a thumb up in approval.

Tsuna smiled back at him and swirled his hot chocolate inside the mug. "I'm glad you weren't awake, we only got this house recently. Imagine having to get it repaired already," he pointed out, taking a sip of his drink. "It'd make people question Skull's ability to take care of you all. _Again_."

Skull nodded from his spot on Tsuna's shoulder, absently petting the now sweater-clad kitten in his lap. "Tsuna-nii is right," he told the group at large, making sure to include Hibari in the glance he sent the group of children and adding the honorific more out of habit than maintaining the illusion of his youth. He'd switched to more practical pants and shifted his legs a little for comfort, moving the kitten as well. "You're all getting great at working with each other, but you all still struggle with minimizing the damage you do to the surrounding area. Hibari and Mukuro alone can pull it off well, but they don't _want_ to, and they won't if you're all together." Mukuro hummed while Hibari snorted, both in agreement with that statement.

"The attacks we're learning have a wide area of effect," Chikusa pointed out mildly, having now turned away from observing the Flames and now digging into his own food. "It would be difficult to leave an area unscathed with such attacks."

Skull blinked at them as if confused for a second and Tsuna had to take a sip of his hot chocolate to hide his smile at the light he saw in the other's eyes. "Are you saying _you can't do it_?" The four other kids froze as Skull continued, trying – and failing – to sound genuinely confused at such a thing. "Are you saying it's _too hard_? That's okay then, I'm sure we'll figure something else out when you can't control yourself and damage a building," he assured them, pretending he couldn't see the way the four boys were now glaring at him, their pride stung.

"It is _not_ too hard!" Ken all but shouted, Chikusa crossing his arms silently beside him.

"But you guys just said that it was _too_ _difficult_ to try and minimize damage with your attacks," Skull said and Chikusa shook his head.

"I merely pointed out that such a feat would be difficult, not that we were incapable of doing so," Chikusa disagreed. "I'm sure if we train to control the radius of our larger attacks we would be able to do so."

Skull looked at the others at that. "Do you guys agree with him? If you train to control the size of your attacks, you'd probably get the hang of it?" Ken verbally agreed, Mukuro nodded and Hibari just continued to glare at Skull in offense. Skull felt Tsuna shrug in agreement, clearly not as upset as the others.

Skull grinned to himself. _Got 'em_. "Wonderful! I'll add more extensive Flame control to your regiments. I already have you all training to not use more of your Flames than is necessary, but now you'll be learning to condense the Flames into smaller but just as effective attacks." He watched as the kids figured out his trap, Tsuna and Ken the first catch on as they groaned, Tsuna's more a sigh of exasperation at the others while Ken slumped onto the table theatrically. Chikusa turned away a little and adjusted his glasses, avoiding looking at the others even though they all walked willingly into Skull's little trap. Mukuro was smirking slightly, irritated at getting tricked but appreciative of the deception. Hibari continued to glare at Skull, but it was milder, as he was more receptive to training than the others.

Skull let them stew for a few more minutes, cooing at the purring cat in his arms all the while before he finally jumped off Tsuna's shoulder and went to put the kitten in the basket with the others in the living room. When he got back to the room he clapped his hands a little to bring their attention back to him. "We'll pencil that in at a later date, let's get you guys ready for school. Get dressed and get your bags, I'll clean up the kitchen." He shooed them out of the room and began to do just that, turning into his adult form to make reaching the kitchen sink easier. As he was cleaning he heard the door open and then close again but didn't say anything on the matter.

By the time he'd finished loading the dish washer the kids had all come back down, appropriately dressed and with their bags in hand. The only one not there was Hibari, which Skull anticipated would happen, given his continued distaste for "crowding". Skull smiled at the kids and joined them, leaving the house together and heading to the school as one large group.

"Do you guys need me to get anything for your side projects while I'm out?" He asked them, hands stuffed casually into his pockets.

Mukuro perked up but Chikusa beat him to the punch. "I finished reading through my last coding language book, could you look into finding books on machine language?"

"Sure," Skull agreed easily. "I'll poke around some book stores, see what I find. Anything else?"

"I'm struggling to figure out when to limit information and when to reveal it," Mukuro stated, cutting off Ken who had opened his mouth to speak and earning an irritated grunt. "Also..." He trailed off for a moment in thought. "I have been considering having the main character's perception of what is real and what isn't begin to blur, so a book on symbolism in dreams and traditional literary symbolism would be helpful."

"Some Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books could possibly help, I'll see what I can find," Skull promised, and then giving Ken a look. "And you?"

Ken grinned and opened his mouth before freezing, brows furrowing before he slumped and kicked at the ground. "I forgot what I was gonna say. Damn it, Mukuro!"

The other boy sent him a smirk, smugly pleased, and took off running when Ken made an aborted lunge at him. Ken moved to chase after him and paused. Skull watched in amusement as the blond flared his Flames out a little and tackle the seemingly empty space next to Chikusa with a triumphant howl. There was a stifled sound and suddenly Chikusa was standing there, taking the full force of Ken's tackle. The bespectacled boy was quick to lash a hand out however, grabbing thin air, and it was with an aggrieved sound that Mukuro came back into view, being dragged along with the other two to the ground. As they wrestled on the ground Skull nudged the smiling Tsuna and nodded at the cluster.

Tsuna's smile dimmed a little and his brow furrowed, confused for a second. Skull just smiled. "If you can, tell Hibari to make sure Mukuro doesn't terrorize anyone too much today."

Tsuna's eyes widened a little in understanding and he nodded, smiling shyly as Skull ruffled his hair and his smile grew, the brunet's confidence restored. The two broke up the scuffle after that, Mukuro sniffing haughtily as he used his Flames to clean himself up as much as possible and keeping Tsuna firmly stationed between him and the other two boys.

They arrived at the school a few minutes later and greeted Hibari as he intercepted them briefly in his patrol, Skull waving goodbye from the entrance of the school before going to the nearest bookstore. "I might need to get a hobby," Skull mused to himself as he browsed through the coding language books they had available. "I mean, the kids all have one at this point, and all I have is raising and training the kids. They don't need me nearly as much anymore." He perked up a little as a thought came to him. "I could put cars back together! I already like doing maintenance on the motorcycle, maybe I could fix up old cars or something. I mean, the kids aren't likely to use them as I can't imagine Mukuro _not_ learning how to teleport just to spite Viper, but they might still like them or I can just sell them off." He hummed to himself, liking that idea, and added repair books to his list of items to look for in the bookstore.

If there was one benefit to living longer than any other human in the world and having once worked for various mafia leaders, it was that Skull wasn't exactly strapped for cash. He, and therefor the kids, weren't in any danger of going bankrupt for a few years yet and, knowing how spiteful Viper could be, he wouldn't be surprised if she found a way to trick Vongola into paying him for essentially raising one of their prospective heirs.

With a cut going to her for mediating, of course.

He continued to do some shopping, finding a book on assembly language, the two on symbolism that Mukuro wanted, basic books on automobile repair and some notebooks for Mukuro so that he wouldn't run out in the middle of an inspiration streak.

After that he spent the remainder of the day wandering around, getting extra groceries and hunting down the town junkyard to begin scoping out how to best start out his new hobby. Not a bad way to spend the day, overall.

* * *

When Mukuro woke up, he didn't move anything but his eyes, opening them and staring blearily at the wall. Next to him Tsunayoshi shifted a little, his Intuition telling him even in his sleep that something was amiss, but didn't wake as Mukuro gently poked him in the forehead, adding a bit of his own Flames to dampen the feeling for the time being. He felt a moment of guilt, but didn't want to wake the younger boy. It wasn't like he had a nightmare.

Just…the same dream he'd been having for the past month or so.

He extended his Flames so that they blanketed the others in the bed, slipping out once he was certain he wouldn't wake them with his shifting and silently went to the kitchen. The moment he entered the room he silently willed a foxfire into existence and slowly began preparing a cup of tea, not looking at the ticking clock he could hear in the sitting room. He poured the tea into a mug and moved to sit at the table, and startled a little at what he hadn't previously noticed sitting on the table.

It was a notebook, simple and leather-bound, with a pen resting beside it. One of his new symbolism books was sitting next to it as well, the one about dreams, and Mukuro smiled a little to himself. He had suspected Skull had cottoned on to the fact that Mukuro needed research regarding symbolism for more than just the books he was working on – and it wasn't like he was really _trying_ to hide it from Skull. He hadn't told him, true, but he suspected that he would always struggle with asking for help, and was grateful that Skull had picked up on that and responded in kind.

Though it does look like Skull was somehow aware that he was waking up in the middle of the night. Perhaps he can sense the foreign Flames in his body after Mukuro's removed them and everyone's woken up? Once he figures out what's going on with his dreams, he may have to ask the Cloud how he knew.

Mukuro twitched a finger and a chair at the table was pulled out, sitting there with a small sigh. He put the mug of tea down and picked up the book, and started to read. Hopefully he wasn't going to be up too late.

As he read, he couldn't stop thinking about the pair of blue eyes that so closely resembled his left, and the city she kept repeating to him, a little more desperate and disheartened with every new dream she appeared in.

* * *

*Omake*

Mammon didn't have to show their face for Squalo to feel the smugness radiating from them, and it took great self-control to not simply roll his eyes as he focused on the bill they'd given him. He raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me that you just _happened_ to be in Namimori and noted that some Vongola agents, protecting the Young Lion of the Vongola's wife, were _not being paid_ due to a clerical error. And you want them to receive compensation for such a thing?"

"Yes," Mammon confirmed, their smugness not abating for a second. "Is it so unusual to think that paying the minions who are protecting Vongola-related civilians would prevent them from lashing back?" Their reasoning was accurate, but was so unfitting that Squalo merely sent them a look to illustrate just how bullshit he thought they were being.

"No…" he drawled out skeptically, "it's unusual for you to give any kind of a shit about anyone but yourself."

Mammon's smugness faded away somewhat, allowing another emotion to creep through; vindictiveness. "I have been made more aware of just how incompetent the CEDEF is in protecting its members' civilian families from other threats, after several condescending remarks from them that I have been forced to put up with despite the fact that myself, along with most of the Varia, have no outside family to speak of. I take great pleasure in billing them so that the guards they've forgotten they have hired for one of their most important member's family are properly compensated. Along with my consultation fee, of course."

Squalo allowed his scowl to morph into an equally vindictive smile and did what was necessary to send the bill through the appropriate channels. "I can't argue with that. Fuck those bastards, VOI!"

*End Omake*

* * *

Literally finished this today, hope you guys liked it!

Thanks for reading and please review.


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